£  - 


ST.    CHRISTOPHER.       EARLIEST    DATED    WOOD-CUT.       I423. 


THE   PENTATEUCH   OF   PRINTING, 


WITH 


A   CHAPTER  ON   |UDGES. 


BY 


WILLIAM     BLADES. 


With  a  [Memoir  of  the  tAutbor,   and  List  of  bis   Works, 


BY 


TALBOT    B.    REED. 


CHICAGO: 

A.     C.    McCWRG    AND    COMPANY. 
l8Ql  . 


'Blades,  East  &  'Blades, 

Printers, 

2},  t/lbchurch  Lane,  London,   B.C. 


v,'TJ)3lCU:,)W;>r<.fr.> 


I   A 


PREFACE 


THE  Pentateuch  of  Printing  is  not  so  fanciful  a  title  for  the 
present  book  as  might  at  first  sight  appear.  There  is  a  self- 
evident  analogy  between  the  Genesis  of  the  World  and  the  Genesis 
of  Printing.  The  spread  of  Typography  is  not  inaptly  typified  by 
an  Exodus;  while  the  laws  promulgated  in  Leviticus  have  a  plain 
parallel  in  idea  with  the  laws  and  observances  necessary  to  be  followed 
in  making  a  book.  Numbers  certainly  is  not  so  directly  suggestive  of 
the  many  great  names  which  figure  upon  the  Printers'  Roll  of  Honour; 
but  Deuteronomy  at  once  suggests,  by  its  very  signification,  the  second 
birth  and  reinforcement  of  the  vital  conditions  of  Printing  introduced 
by  the  steam-machine.  No  subject  is  now-a-days  complete  without  a 
knowledge  of  what  specialists  have  previously  written  upon  it,  and  the 
public  generally  are  certain  to  form  their  opinions  upon  the  published 
statements  of  the  best  Judges.  We  thus  obtain  six  chapter-heads  for 
our  book,  and  whether  the  information  offered  under  these  heads  is 
worth  reading  must  now  be  left  to  the  only  judge,  against  whose 
verdict  it  is  useless  to  appeal — the  Reading  Public. 


I    A    2 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


Tage 

"PREFACE  "'• 

OAEMOIR    OF    WILLIAM    "BLADES  ix. 

■PROLOGUE  **"• 

GENESIS  ' 

EXODUS 

LEVITICUS  4  ? 

LUMBERS  59 

^DEUTERONOMY  -  s  ? 

«/?    CHAPTER    ON    JUDGES  95 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

St.  Christopher.     Earliest  dated  Wood-block    -  Frontispiece 

Assyrian  Clay  Tablet,  Stamped  5 

Letters  Stamped  on  a  Creek  Lamp   -  5 

Letters  Stamped  on  a  Roman  Lamp  5 

Fifteenth  Century  Playing  Card  6 

Fac-simile,  from  the  Biblia  Pauperum.     Block-book,  15th  century                                        8 

Scriptorium  Monk  at  work  9 

Bookbinder,  16th  century  xo 

Cover  of  a  Book,  15th  century  1 1 

Fragment  from  a  Xylographic  Donatus  12 

Image  of  Pity.     (Wood-block  and  type)  13 

Statue  of  Coster  1 7 

Coster  Commemoration  Medal,  1856  19 

Portrait  of  Ulric  Gering     -  29 

Manuscript  written  at  Bruges,  circ.  1472  34 

Supposed  Portrait  of  Caxton  36 
Fac-simile  from  the  Recuyell  of  the  Histories  of  Troye,  1474.     (Caxton's  Type, 

No.  1)      -  37 

Bas-relief  from  the  Entablature,  Jerusalem  Chamber,  Westminster  -                                   39 

Illustrations  showing  regular  and  irregular  body  of  Type  t'1 

Impression  of  a  Type  in  1476  48 

Impression  of  a  Type,  circ.  1470       -  48 

Profile  tracings  from  M.  Claudius'  15th  century  Types  49 

Diagram  of  a  Type  5° 

Illustration  of  a  Punch  50 

Illustration  of  a  Matrix      -  5 1 

The  "Lay"  of  a  pair  of  Type  Cases  52 

A  Fifteenth  Century  Wooden  Composing  Stick  53 


viii.  List  of   Illustrations 


PACE 


Old  Iron  Composing  Stick  53 

A  Line  of  Composed  Type  53 

Old  Wooden  Press,  1508  54 

Interior  of  a  17th  century  Printing  Office  55 

Improved  Wooden  Press,  1640  56 

Portraits  of  Coster,  Gutenberg,  Fust,  Aldus  and  Froben.     (From  Maittaire)  -  63 

Portrait  of  Aldus  65 

The  Medal  of  Aldus  67 

The  Plantin  Museum,  at  Antwerp  -        face  75 

Portrait  of  Christopher  Plantin  76 

Portrait  of  John  Day,  1562                                                    .  77 

John  Day's  Trade-mark     -  77 

Portrait  of  William  Spottiswoode  78 

Portrait  of  Benjamin  Franklin  79 

Facsimile  Letter  of  Benjamin  Franklin  80 

Stationers'  Hall  81 

Centenary  Medal  of  the  Walters,  of  the  Times,  1885  87 

Diagram  Illustrating  a  Flat  Impression  88 

Diagram  Illustrating  Single  Cylindrical  Impression  88 

Diagram  Illustrating  Double  Cylindrical  Impression  of  a  Perfecting  Machine  89 

Diagram  Illustrating  Cylindrical  Impression  from  Curved  Stereotype  90 

The  "Hoer  Newspaper  Printing  Machine  face  go 

Early  Logotypes  92 

imile  Title-page  of  the  Star  Chamber  Decree,  1637  -  104 

Facsimile  Title-page  of  Atkyn's  Original  and  Grmvth  of  Printing,  1(1(14  105 

Fac-simile  Title -page  and  Illustration  from  Wolffgcr's  Format  Bitchlein,  1620  -        106,  107 

I  ai  simile  Title  page  of  Moxon's  Mechanick  Exercises,  [683  108 

I    1    imile  Title-page  of  the  Elzevir  Specimen  Book,  1713  109 

Lk  simile  Title-page  ol  Watson's  History  oj  Printing,  1713  110 

Fac-simile  Title-page  ol  Lewis   Life  of '  Caxton,  1737  im 

I  n    imile  'I11K  page  oi  Mores'  Dissertation  on  Founders,  1778  112 

l.i,    imile  Titli  pa  1   ol  [.Thomas'  History  of  Printing  in  America,  1810  113 


^llr.ll.J|ini°ll°N°ll°ll°ll°ll°lloll°ll"ll°UHI°ll°llol|g|l°ll°ll°ll°ll°ll°ll°U°lloMol|a|l°MollpM°llc.|lol|n||0|l.a|lohc.nollc.l|C|l.iil..lli 

a  M"  "Ml 


6>  ttr  per 
3M  <?ff*6i 


XWT ,  jgj 


IEIBIBIEl[3IBIE1ia[3limHIBlBIIHllEUBI13IElll3II3ri3IE]IBEllI3IH01BO^ 


{MEMOIR  of  the  late  WILLIAM  "BLADES, 


BY 


TALBOT     BAINES     REED. 


TO    the    friends    of  the  late  WILLIAM    Blades  no  apology  is  needed   for 
publishing  in  its  present   form  the  work  on  which  he  was  engaged  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  in  April,  1890.     For  such  as  did   not  know  him, 
it   is   thought   that   a   few   biographical    notes   on    the   man    and   his   career  will 
sufficiently  explain  the  peculiar  interest  which  attaches  to  his  last  and  not  least 
important  work. 

William  Blades  was  born  at  Clapham,  on  the  5th  of  December,  1824 — at 
a  period  when  the  romantic  bibliomania  of  DlBDlN  and  the  Roxboro'  Club  was 
in  its  zenith.  These  enthusiasts  met  periodically  to  celebrate  their  discoveries 
in  the  field  of  book-lore;  to  keep  one  another  in  mind  of  the  famous  occasion 
when  the  Marquess  of  BLANDFORD  wrested  the  Valdarfar  Boccaccio  from  the 
Earl  of  Spencer  for  the  sum  of  ^2,260,  at  Evans's;  and  to  drink  in  silence  to 
the  "Cause  of  Bibliomania  all  over  the  World."  Emulated  by  the  example  of 
these  aristocratic  enthusiasts,  other  more  humble  enquirers,  such  as  TlMPERLEY, 
HANSARD,  and  JOHNSON  were  exploring  the  same  field,  and  helping  one  another 
to  conclusions.  There  was  more  zeal  than  knowledge.  There  was  a  great  deal 
of  fine  writing,  entertaining  anecdote,  and  expensive  book-making;  there  were 
sweeping  generalizations,  and  a  touching  confidence  in  second-hand  evidence. 
But  in  all  the  school,  although  it  included  one  or  two  practical  printers,  no 
one  had  the  courage  to  defy  authority,  and  question  all  bibliographical  dogma 


x.  The  Pentateuch,   of  Printing. 


until  he  could  verify  it  for  himself.  The  little  boy  at  Clapham  was  destined  to 
inaugurate  this  desirable  revolution,  and  apply  to  the  study  of  Early  Printing 
a  sturdy  agnosticism  which  would  have  horrified  DlBDlN  and  scandalized  the 
choice  spirits  of  the  Roxboro'  Club. 

At  the  early  age  of  sixteen,  and  after  a  comparatively  brief  educational  career 
at  the  Clapham  Grammar  School,  William  Blades  entered  the  office  of  his  father, 
the  late  Joseph  Blades,  a  respected  City  printer,  at  u,  Abchurch  Lane.  In 
after  life  he  was  always  ready  to  attribute  the  main  part  of  his  success  as  a  biblio- 
grapher, as  well  as  his  own  business  prosperity,  to  the  thorough  grounding  which, 
during  his  'prentice  years,  he  received  in  all  the  details,  practical  and  artistic,  of 
his  profession.  Nor  was  he  wont,  in  dealing  with  questions  relating  to  the  well- 
being  and  relief  of  the  journeyman  printer,  in  which  he  took  so  deep  an  interest, 
ever  to  ignore  the  days,  often  severe  and  wearisome,  when  he  wore  the  apron  and 
worked  at  case  side  by  side  with  his  father's  employes.  His  description  of  himself 
as  "William  BLADES,  Printer,"  on  the  title-page  of  one  or  more  of  his  books, 
conveyed  what  he  felt  to  be  his  chief  claim  to  authority  on  matters  relating  to  the 
history  and  antiquities  of  his  craft.  Those  matters  it  was  his  rule  to  investigate 
as  a  printer  first,  as  an  antiquary  next,  and  as  a  man  of  letters  last;  and  it  was 
by  adhering  to  this  order  that  he  was  able  to  do  for  bibliography  what  Ames 
and  DlIiDIX  and  TlMPERLEY  had  failed  to  do. 

These  investigations,  however,  do  not  appear  to  have  interested  him  specially 
during  the  early  years  of  his  career  as  a  printer.  It  was  not  till  he  had  become  a 
master  in  his  craft  that  he  gave  the  first  indications  of  a  turn  for  the  antiquities 
of  Printing.  Long  before  1858  the  bibliomania  of  the  DlliDIN  school  had  died 
down  into  a  vague  academic  interest  in  the  productions  of  the  early  presses, 
measured  chiefly  by  their  market  value  at  auctions,  and  studied  wholly  on  the 
unquestioned  authority  of  the  author  of  the  Bibliographical  Decameron  and  his 
contemporaries.  The  art  of  exact  fac-simile  was  as  yet  unknown ;  and  for  those 
who,  without  access  to  the  originals,  pretended  to  a  knowledge  of  the  typography 
of  the  early  printers,  the  lax  copper-plates  and  wood  engravings  of  the  old 
illustrators  were  the  principal  data  of  research. 

In  a  few  directions,  however,  the  interest  was  reviving,  and,  in  185S, 
Mr.  BLADES  undertook  to  write  an  introductory  note  for  a  re-print  of  Caxton's 
edition  of  TJu  Governable  of  Health.     His  special  qualification  for  the  task  was 


Memoir  of  the  Author.  xi. 

that  he  had  already  begun  his  investigation  of  the  typography  of  the  works  of 
the  first  English  press,  which  were  to  result  in  his  Life  of  Caxton.  What  it  was 
which  specially  turned  his  attention  to  this  inquiry  he  has  not  left  on  record. 
Whatever  it  was,  looking  at  it  from  the  printer's  point  of  view,  a  very  little  study 
sufficed  to  convince  him  of  the  general  untrustworthiness  of  the  old  authorities, 
and  the  necessity  of  instituting  an  original  research. 

The  manner  in  which  he  went  about  this  was  characteristic  of  the  man's 
enthusiasm  and  determination.  He  shut  up  his  Lewis,  and  Ames,  and  DlBDIN, 
and  ALDYS,  and  assumed  that  neither  he,  nor  anyone  else,  knew  anything  of 
WILLIAM  CAXTON.  From  this  clear  stand-point  he  began  first  to  study  the 
life,  and  then  the  books  of  the  Mercer  printer.  He  groped  through  the  City 
records  till  he  established  the  clear  connection  between  the  apprentice  of 
Robert  Large,  and  the  merchant  adventurer  in  the  Burgundian  Court.  Then, 
step  by  step,  he  traced  the  literary  protege  of  the  Duchess  to  Bruges,  and  into 
the  printing  office  of  COLARU  MANSION.  As  he  himself  confessed,  it  was  no 
easy  task.  Often  he  had  to  go  back  on  his  steps,  and  often  the  difficulties  in  the 
way  seemed  to  forbid  all  further  progress.  But  the  ground  cleared  as  he  went 
on,  and  when  once  he  had  traced  his  hero  to  Westminster,  the  chief  biographical 
difficulties  of  his  task  were  over. 

There  remained  the  still  more  important  study  of  CAXTON'S  works.  Here, 
more  than  ever,  he  resolved  to  take  nothing  at  second  hand.  He  personally 
inspected  no  fewer  than  450  Caxtons  in  different  libraries,  collating,  comparing, 
and  classifying  them  as  he  went  along.  His  printer's  instinct  at  once  found 
the  key  to  the  study.  It  was  not  in  the  titles  or  colophons,  in  the  diction  or 
the  literary  evidence,  but  in  the  types.  He  subjected  each  book  to  a  searching 
typographical  examination,  and  classified  it  according  to  its  types.  He  made 
the  whole  work  and  method  of  the  primitive  little  printing  house  at  the  "  Red 
Pale "  live  before  our  eyes  ;  we  saw  when  type  1  came  to  an  end,  and  when 
type  2  appeared ;  we  found  the  ingenious  craftsman,  when  type  2  was  wearing 
out,  trimming  it  with  his  graver,  and  creating  type  2*  out  of  its  ruins.  We 
watched  the  career  of  each  type,  from  the  moment  it  was  cast  in  its  rough 
mould,  till  the  day  when,  worn  out  and  discarded,  it  passed  into  strange  hands 
and  finally  vanished.  Meanwhile,  each  book  as  it  came  up,  fell  into  its  proper 
class.      The  year  of  undated  books   was  fixed  by  the   evidence   of  their  dated 


.\ii.  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


companions;  and  the  relative  order  in  a  single  year  was  often  determined  by  the 
observation  of  some  typographical  detail,  visible  only  to  the  eye  of  the  expert, 
which  clearly  marked  off  one  stage  in  the  printers'  habits  from  another. 

In  such  manner  was  the  Life  of  Caxton  written.  It  marked  a  new  epoch 
in  bibliography,  and  disposed  finally  of  the  lax  methods  of  the  old  school. 
With  a  work  like  the  Life  of  Caxton  on  record,  it  would  be  impossible  in 
future  to  write  with  authority  about  the  old  printers  and  their  books,  without 
approaching  the  study  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  typographical  expert. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  mechanical  improvements  in  processes  of  fac-simile 
added  much  to  the  success  and  value  of  the  Life  and  Typography  of  William 
Caxton.  It  is  useless  to  talk  about  old  type  unless  you  can  display  it.  This 
Mr.  Blades  did  on  a  lavish  scale.  Not  only  were  fac-simile  pages  of  all 
the  representative  books  given,  but  the  alphabets  in  each  class  of  type  were 
laboriously  picked  out  and  presented,  with  the  combinations  and  variants  of 
each  letter,  so  that  the  student  was  able  to  study  CAXTON's  works  not  only  as 
they  appeared  ready  printed,  but  letter  by  letter,  in  the  case  before  composition. 

The  first  volume  of  the  Life  of  Caxton  appeared  in  1861,  and  the  second 
in  1863  ;  between  which  two  dates,  Mr.  BLADES  had  married  the  lady  who,  for 
twenty-eight  years,  was  to  be  the  loyal  partner  in  his  life  and  work. 

The  magnum  opus  was  received  with  general  approbation.  It  was  recog- 
nised that  a  right  method  of  investigating  the  problems  of  pakeotypography 
had  been  discovered.  A  new  interest  was  aroused  in  the  works  of  the  early 
presses,  and  the  fortunate  possessors  of  "  Caxtons "  became  suddenly  alive 
to   their   privileges. 

Not  the  least  gratifying  result  of  the  labours  connected  with  this  work  were 
the  friendships  which  Mr.  BLADES  formed  with  men  of  his  own  taste,  engaged  in 
like  pursuits.  It  is  worth  recording  the  pleasant  account  given  by  Mr.  PROTHERO 
of  the  meeting  of  Henry  Bradshaw  and  William  Blades,  while  the  proofs  of 
the  Caxton  were  still  in  the  press.  "  In  September,  i860,  Mr.  BLADES  paid  a  visit 
"tn  Cambridge,  taking  with  him  the  first  two  sheets  of  his  book  in  type,  and 
"the  rest  in  manuscript.  It  was  a  fine,  warm  afternoon,  and  after  dinner — they 
"dined  earlier  in  those  days  than  now  -  they  went  down,  as  BRADSHAW  was 
"fond  oi  doing,  into  the  college  garden;  a  bottle  of  wine  was  ordered  out,  ami 


Memoir  of  the   .  hit '//or.  xiii. 


"  there  and  then,  without  moving  from  the  place,  Mr.  BLADES  read  the  whole 
"historical  portion  of  the  book  to  his  willing  listener,  who  frequently  interposed 
"  criticisms  and  suggestions  of  the  most  useful  kind." 

The  friendship  thus  begun  continued  uninterruptedly  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury. It  was  none  the  less  valued  because  BRADSHAW,  the  keenest  of  the  new- 
scientific  school  of  bibliographers,  was  an  outspoken  critic.  "  Believe  me,"  wrote 
Mr.  Blades,  when  acknowledging  a  voluminous  letter  of  criticism  on  his  second 
volume,  "  no  review  in  the  Athenceum  or  Saturday  will  give  me  half  the  inward 
"  satisfaction  that  I  feel  when  you  tell  me  that  my  book  has  enabled  or  assisted 
"you  to  write  such  a  body  of  sound,  critical  notes  as  now  lies  before  me." 

This  was  not  the  only  friendship  for  which  he  was  indebted  to  his  Life  of 
Caxton.  His  work  brought  him  into  contact  and  friendly  intercourse  with 
librarians  and  printers,  not  only  in  England,  but  in  France,  Holland,  and 
Germany,  and  made  his  already  rich  library  a  rallying  point  for  students  and 
enquirers  of  all  kinds,  who  came  to  him  for  advice  and  information,  and 
received,  in  addition  to  both,  an  unfailing  and  kindly  welcome. 

The  publication  of  the  Caxton  by  no  means  completed  Mr.  Blades'  atten- 
tion to  history  of  the  first  Engish  press.  His  bibliographical  method  forbade 
him  to  consider  any  question,  however  exhaustively  treated,  as  closed.  He 
was  constantly  collecting  new  material,  and  as  constantly  giving  the  world 
the  benefit  of  his  studies.  The  Life  of  Caxton  was  supplemented  by  a  very 
useful  hand  list  of  the  specimens  of  the  old  master's  press  in  the  British 
Museum,  by  his  How  to  tell  a  Caxton,  as  well  as  his  introductory  notes 
and  monographs  to  several  valuable  fac-simile  reprints  of  English  incunabula. 
He  became  a  constant  and  diligent  contributor  to  the  trade  periodicals,  and  his 
scattered  articles — of  which  it  is  hoped  the  list  appended  will  be  found  to  be  a 
pretty  complete  catalogue — comprehend  an  important,  and  perhaps  not  suffi- 
ciently well-remembered,  volume  of  his  literary  work.  He  did  as  much  as  any 
writer  of  the  time  to  call  the  printer's  attention  to  the  honourable  and  interesting 
traditions  of  his  craft,  and  to  lift  him  from  the  role  of  a  mere  tradesman  into 
that  of  a  partner  in  a  glorious  Art. 

Meanwhile,  his  business  was  prospering.  The  distractions  of  literary  work 
and  of  a  rapidly  increasing  bibliomania  were  not  allowed  to  interfere  with  the 
careful  attention  demanded  in  the  building  up  and   maintenance  of  a  large  trade 


xiv.  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


connection.  His  interest  in  the  methods  and  practice  of  the  old  press  never 
hindered  him  from  keeping  pace  with  all  the  improvements  of  the  new.  His 
office  became  well  known  in  the  City  for  its  enterprise  in  adopting  any  new 
improvement  consistent  with  the  production  of  good  printing ;  and  he  was 
looked  up  to  as  an  authority  on  the  practice  of  the  art  and  craft  of  to-day, 
no  less  than  on  that  of  four  centuries  ago. 

In  1870,  occurred  an  epoch  in  the  annals  of  typographical  controversy,  when 
Dr.  Van  DER  Linde's  destructive  essay  against  the  claims  of  Haarlem  as  the 
birthplace  of  Printing  appeared  in  the  "  Cologne  Chronicle."  Mr.  BLADES  was 
sufficiently  interested  in  the  subject,  and  in  the  general  tenor  of  Dr.  VAN  DER 
LlNDE'S  argument,  to  publish  an  English  translation  of  the  work  by  Mr. 
HESSELS  at  his  own  cost.  At  the  same  time  he  maintained  from  the  first 
an  attitude  of  careful  reserve  on  the  main  question.  In  an  article  on  Early 
Schools  of  Typography,  contributed,  before  the  appearance  of  the  English  edition 
of  the  Coster  Legend,  to  Mr.  Berjeau's  Bookworm,  he  had  suggested  the  possi- 
bility of  an  independent  invention  of  printing  both  in  Holland  and  Germany,  a 
theory  which  has  of  late  years  gained  some  ground.  While  heartily  approving 
of  the  destruction  of  all  obviously  false  and  flimsy  evidence  on  the  side  of 
cither  claimant,  it  was  to  him  a  source  of  regret  when  the  literary  duel  between 
Dr.  VAN  DER  LlNDE  and  Dr.  Hessels  descended  from  the  arena  of  forcible 
argument  into  that  of  acrimonious  dispute.  To  him,  as  to  most  other  students  of 
the  controversy,  the  existence  of  the  "  Costeriana  "  was  an  insuperable  obstacle 
to  the  admission  of  the  German  claim  ;  and  one  of  his  latest  utterances, 
before  the  Library  Association,  was  a  careful  and  judicial  summary  of  the 
case  on  either  side,  with  a  decided  inclination  of  opinion  in  favour  of  Haarlem 
as   against   Mentz. 

During  the  few  years  which  followed  the  publication  of  Dr.  Van  der 
LlNDE'S  book,  Mr.  BLADES' energies  were  chiefly  devoted  to  the  development 
of  his  important  library  of  books  on  Printing,  the  foundations  of  which  had  been 
laid  as  far  back  as  his  apprentice  days.  The  genuine  book-hunter  needs  not 
to  be  reminded  of  the  insidious  nature  of  his  malady.  Any  excuse  suffices  for 
a  new  relapse.  The  Life  of  Caxton  was  a  more  than  common  excuse.  Not  only 
did  it  lead  its  author  to  a  search  after  "  fifteeners,"  (of  which,  however,  he  did  not 
acquire  many)  but  it  was  the  occasion   for  collecting  every  available  work  on  the 


Memoir  of  the   Author.  xv. 

early  practice  of  the  Art,  not  only  in  England,  but  abroad.  From  this  it  was 
but  a  step  to  treatises  on  the  multiplex  craft  of  modern  printing.  His  enquiry 
into  the  types  and  typefounding  of  Caxton  naturally  opened  the  way  for  a 
collection  on  that  branch  of  the  subject  generally — particularly  of  type  founders' 
specimen  books,  to  whose  historical  importance  his  little  book  on  the  subject, 
published  in  1875,  was  one  of  the  first  to  call  attention.  His  interest  in 
the  Invention  controversy  naturally  brought  onto  his  shelves  the  voluminous 
literature  devoted  to  that  question,  which,  when  once  begun,  must,  to  be  of  real 
importance,  be  complete.  Nor  was  there  any  reason  why  the  collector, 
once  embarked  on  his  career,  should  hold  his  hand  from  any  work,  be  it  a 
memoir,  an  Act  of  Parliament,  a  typographical  oddity,  a  sober  specification,  a 
specimen  of  fine  work,  or  an  ephemeral  tract,  provided  it  bore  on  his  subject, 
and  added  weight  to  his  collection.  And  so,  from  small  beginnings,  and  it  ma)' 
be  to  the  occasional  concern  of  himself,  his  library  grew  into  one  of  peculiar 
value  and  importance.  How  wisely  and  carefully  he  selected,  how  thoroughly 
he  explored  the  highways  and  byways  of  typographical  literature,  the  catalogue 
of  his  collection,  when  it  comci  to  be  published,  will  disclose. 

An  occasion  arrived  in  1877  for  admitting  the  book-loving  public  to  a 
participation  in  some  of  its  treasures.  The  Caxton  Celebration  of  that  year 
was  an  event  which  will  always  be  peculiarly  associated  with  the  name  of 
WILLIAM  BLADES.  It  was  due  to  him  that  the  solecism  of  celebrating  the 
Fourth  Centenary  of  the  Introduction  of  Printing  into  England  three  years 
before  its  time  was  avoided.  When  the  true  anniversary  came,  Mr.  BLADES 
threw  himself  heart  and  soul  into  the  movement.  What  was  his  part  in  the 
success  of  the  Celebration  is  already  on  record.  He  suggested  both  the  form 
the  festival  should  take,  and  the  methods  by  which  it  might  be  carried  out.  He 
undertook  the  collection  and  arrangement  of  the  unique  display  of  Caxtons  and 
early  English  printed  books  which  were  brought  together — perhaps  the  most 
complete  collection  ever  seen  at  one  time.  He  organized  and  superintended  the 
arrangement  of  the  large  miscellaneous  collection  of  books,  specimens,  autographs, 
portraits,  medals  and  curiosities,  to  which  he  himself  contributed  the  lion's  share. 
For  the  catalogue  he  wrote,  of  course,  the  prefatory  note  on  Caxton. 

The  writer  of  these  notes  has  good  reason  to  remember  those  busy  days  at 
South  Kensington.     It  was  in   that  long,  upper  gallery,  crowded   with  packing 


2  A 


xvi.  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

cases,  noisy  with  the  hammering  of  nails,  dim  with  dust,  and  with  the  hand  on 
the  dial  creeping  hourly  towards  the  opening  day,  that  he  first  met  WILLIAM 
BLADES.  The  man  of  letters  was  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  busy  with  the  unpacking 
of  a  box  of  Caxtons.  He  was  the  guiding  spirit  of  the  scene.  While  others 
despaired  of  being  up  to  time,  he  kept  his  head  and  worked  hard.  While 
others  differed  and  argued,  he  was  serene  and  genial.  It  was  impossible  in  his 
presence  to  stand  idle,  or  doubt  for  a  moment  of  the  success  of  the  undertaking. 
How  complete  was  that  success  need  not  be  told  here,  or  how  modest  was  the 
share  of  credit  which  he  took  to  himself  When  it  was  all  over,  he  took  his 
books  and  pictures  and  medals  back  to  the  little  library  at  Croydon,  and 
returned  to  the  life  of  the  printer-student  as  cheerfully  as  he  had  emerged  from 
it  a  year  before. 

The  formation  of  the  Library  Association,  in  1877,  was  another  event  which 
commanded  Mr.  BLADES1  warm  sympathy.  He  was  a  Member  of  the  Council 
of  that  body  from  the  beginning,  and  a  frequent  attendant  at  the  pleasant  yearly 
Conferences  held  under  its  auspices  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  His  diary 
contains  notes  of  some  of  these  bibliographical  expeditions,  that  to  the  Glasgow 
Meeting,  in  1888,  being  recorded  with  special  pleasure.  He  contrived  on  such 
visits  to  sec  all  that  was  to  be  seen  in  the  way  of  early  printed  books  and 
libraries,  and  invariably  came  back  refreshed  in  mind,  and  often  weightier  in 
baggage,  from  these  congenial  holidays.  He  occasionally  read  papers  before 
the  Association,  one  of  his  latest  public  appearances  being  at  the  London 
Meeting  of  the  Association  in  1889,  when  he  read  an  interesting  account  of  the 
Chained  Library  at  Wimborne. 

His  love  of  books  tempted  him,  in  1881,  to  a  literary  effort  in  a  lighter  vein 
than  any  he  had  hitherto  adopted.  The  Enemies  of  Books  is  a  dainty  and 
entertaining  defence  of  his  favourites  against  their  sworn  enemies,  human,  insect, 
and  elemental,  and  brought  him  into  contact  with  many  admirers  whom  his 
more  serious  works  had  not  interested.  This  championship  did  not  hinder  the 
development  of  an  almost  romantic  interest  on  the  part  of  the  author  for  the 
real  book  worm.  Among  the  treasures  of  his  library  were  usually  to  be  seen 
one  or  more  of  these  learned  insects,  browsing  on  the  pages  of  an  old  magazine, 
or,  as  a  special  delicacy,  being  feasted  on  a  morsel  of  fifteenth  century  printed 
matter.  Ili--  attempts  to  rear  them,  however,  were  unsuccessful.  As  he  con- 
1       ed   once  to  the  writer,  it   was  one  of  the  failures  of  his  life! 


Memoir  of  the  Author.  xvii. 


A  jeu  d'esprit  of  another  kind  had  been  published  in  1872,  whimsically  con- 
necting Shakespeare  with  the  printing  profession,  a  jest  which  amused  him  all  the 
more  that  it  was  taken  an  grand  serieux  by  some  sober-minded  correspondents. 
Later,  in  1885,  his  account  and  metrical  paraphrase  of  the  German  morality  play 
the  Depositio  Cornuti  Typographic^  gave  him  scope  for  the  combination  of  a  good 
deal  of  special  lore  to  illustrate  a  quaint  old-world  literary  drollery. 

The  closing  years  of  his  life  witnessed  no  diminution  of  his  energies,  either 
in  business  or  literary  pursuits,  although  both  were  occasionally  hindered  by 
what  proved  to  be  premonitory  symptoms  of  the  heart  affection  to  which  he 
was  to  succumb. 

In  1884  he  took  up  the  cudgels  on  behalf  of  the  English  inventor  of  the 
Steam  Press,  against  his  old  friend  Herr  GOEBEL  of  Stuttgart,  who  claimed 
the  honour  for  his  countryman  K(ENIG.  In  the  controversy  which  ensued, 
Mr.  BLADES  was  careful  to  keep  the  discussion  free  from  the  faults  which 
had  marred  the  dispute  between  Dr.  Van  DER  LlNDE  and  Dr.  HESSELS.  It 
was  a  trial  to  him  that  his  temperate  statement  of  the  claims  of  NICHOLSON 
should,  after  all,  cost  him  a  valued  friendship,  for  the  loss  of  which,  however,  he 
felt  had  not  himself  to  reproach. 

His  widening  interest  in  early  books  of  every  kind  led  him,  among  his  latest 
efforts,  to  undertake  what  promised  to  be  a  novel  and  highly  scientific  natural- 
history  study  of  the  incunabula.  His  careful  note  on  Water-marks,  contributed 
to  the  Athentzum,  and  the  equally  valuable  note  on  Signatures,  with  which  he 
inaugurated  his  projected  series  of  Bibliographical  Miscellanies,  promised,  had  the 
author  lived  to  complete  his  scheme,  to  place  the  study  of  early  printed  books  on 
a  clearer  and  still  more  precise  footing  than  it  had  yet  attained. 

But  the  project  was  cut  short  at  an  early  stage.  His  investigations  on 
these  questions  had  been  carried  on  with  all  his  old  enthusiasm  and  deter- 
mination, but  with  increasing  difficulty,  and  at  increasing  physical  cost.  For  the 
same  reason,  the  Pentateuch  of  Printing  had  lain  on  his  study  table  many  months 
incomplete.  The  idea  of  giving  to  book  lovers,  not  professionally  conversant 
with  Printing,  a  clear  and  simple  account  of  the  origin  and  development  of  the 
Art  by  which  books  are  produced,  was  one  which  he  had  long  cherished.  To 
the  lay  mind  the  question  is  full  of  confusion  and  intricacy.  It  is  obscured  by 
much  that  is  irrelevant,  and  distorted  by  much  that  is  incorrect.  His  object 
was  to   clear  away   the   irrelevant,  to   reduce   fiction  to  fact,  and  technicality  to 


xviii.  The  Pentateuch   of  Printing. 


plain  English.  Intended  originally  for  a  short  treatise,  the  idea  had  expanded, 
and  took  form  in  the  quaint  conceit  which  the  title  of  the  work  implies.  Nor, 
when  it  was  more  than  half  complete  in  that  shape,  did  it  stop  growing.  He 
determined  to  add  to  its  attractiveness  by  illustration  on  a  lavish  scale,  and  had 
already  began  to  collect  and  prepare  the  wood-cuts  for  the  purpose,  and 
further  enlarge  the  treatment  of  his  subject  in  other  directions. 

At  this  stage  it  was  that  the  abrupt  summons  came  to  lay  down  the  busy 
pen  and  rest  from  work. 

His  own  jubilee  as  a  printer  was  about  to  be  celebrated,  and  his  friends  and 
workmen  were  invited  to  the  gathering,  when  it  was  known  that  he  was  unwell, 
and  that  the  occasion  must  be  postponed.  The  next  thing  we  heard  was  that  he 
was  dead,  on  April  28,  1890. 

In  these  brief  notes  nothing  more  has  been  attempted  than  a  sketch  of 
Mr.  BLADES  as  a  printer  and  a  bibliographer.  Yet  the  picture  would  be  incom- 
plete without  a  word  as  to  his  private  life.  Those  who  had  the  privilege  of 
knowing  him  at  home  will  not  readily  forget  the  atmosphere  of  gentleness  and 
kindness  in  which  he  lived.  His  family  life  was  one  of  simple  harmony — no  one 
who  was  with  him  for  an  hour  could  fail  to  discover  that  behind  his  learning  and 
enthusiasm  and  industry  there  was  the  background  of  an  unaffected  goodness. 
With  those  especially  who,  in  that  well-remembered  library,  surrounded  by  his 
precious  books,  sought  his  assistance  or  counsel,  the  memory  of  him  will  linger 
long  as  of  one  whose  pleasure  it  was  to  be  kind,  whose  sympathy  was  always 
ready,  and  whose  shrewd  sense  and  wide  knowledge  and  cheery  helpfulness 
were  always  at  the  service  of  a  friend. 


In  preparing  the  Pentateuch  of  Printing  for  publication  in  the  form  in 
which  it  now  appears,  the  present  writer  has  been  careful  to  refrain  from  any- 
thing like  "editing"  on  a  large  scale.  In  a  few  cases  additional  matter  was 
necessary  to  the  clear  meaning  of  the  narrative.  In  other  cases,  where  frag- 
mentary notes  had  been  left  to  indicate  topics  which  the  author  intended  to 
deal  with  mure  full)-,  some  little  expansion  has  been  ventured  upon.  Otherwise, 
the  object  has  been  to  present  the  book,  although  not  professedly  complete  in 
every  respect,  as  nearly  as  possible,  both  as  regards  the  text  and  the  illustrations, 
as  it  was  left  by  the  author  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

Talbot  Baines  Reed. 


List  of  Published   Works  by    William   Blades.  xix. 


List  of  Tublisbed  Works  by  William  ''Blades. 


The  Governayle  of  Helthe  ;  by  John  de  Bordeaux  (?),  or  by  Bartholomeus  Montagnassa  ; 
with  the  Medecyne  of  yc  Stomache,  in  verse  ;  by  John  Lydgate  (?).  Reprinted  from 
Caxton's  edition,  with  introductory  remarks  and  notes  by  William  1  Hades. 

S"      London    1858. 
[Printed  in  imitation   Caxton  types,  cast  in  pewter.  \ 

Morale    Prouerbes ;    C.    Du    Castel  ;    with    introductory    remarks    by    William    Blades; 

facsimile.  4"      1859. 

{Printed  in  imitation   Caxton  types,  cast  in  pewter.] 

The  Life  and  Typography  of  W.  Caxton,  England's  first  Printer,  with  evidence  of  his 
typographical  connection  with  Cohrd  Mansion,  the  printer  at  Bruges ;  with  numerous 
plates.  2  vols.     4"'     London,   1861-63. 

A  Catalogue  of  Books  printed  by,  or  ascribed  to  the  Press  of  W.  Caxton,  in  which  is 
included  the  press  mark  of  every  copy  contained  in  the  British  Museum. 

sm.  4"      London,  1865. 

A    List  of   Medals,  Jettons,   Tokens,  etc.,  in  connection  with  Printers  and  the  Art  of 

Printing.  80,     London,  1869. 

[Only  25  copies  printed.'] 

A  List  of  Medals  struck  by  order  of  the  Corporation  of  London,  with  an  appendix  of 
other  Medals  struck  privately  or  for  sale,  having  reference  to  the  same  corporate 
body,  or  the  Members  thereof.  8"-     London,  1870. 

[Privately  Printed.] 

How  to  tell  a  Caxton,  with  some  hints  where  and  how  the  same  might  be  found  :  plates. 

8°-     London,  1870. 
[A  handbook  for  the  use  of  the  amateur  and  collector.] 

Typographical  Notes  :  The  Early  Schools  of  Typography,  from  the  Bookworm,  March, 
1870;  The  Enschede  Type  Eoundry  at  Haarlem.  S"      London,  1870, 

[Privately  Printed.] 

Shakespere  and  Typography  ;  being  an  attempt  to  show  Shakespere's  personal  connection 
with,  and  technical  knowledge  of  the  Art  of  Printing  ;  also  remarks  upon  some 
common  typographical  errors,  with  special  reference  to  the  text  of  Shakespere  ;  plates. 

8"      London,  1872. 


xx.  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

Some  early  Type-specimen  Books  of  England,  Holland,  France,  Italy,  and  Germany, 
with  explanatory  remarks.  8°-     London,  1875. 

[  With  historical  nates  on  the  aid  English  and  Foreign   Type  Foundries."] 

Earl  of  Rivers.  The  Dictes  and  Sayings  of  the  Philosophers  ;  a  facsimile  reproduction 
of  the  first  book  printed  in  England  ;  with  a  preface  by  William  Blades. 

4"'     1S77. 

The  Biography  and  Typography  of  William  Caxton,  England's  first  Printer  ;  plates. 

8°-     London,  1877. 
\_A  new  edition,   issued  in  connection  with  the   Caxton   Celebration,  l8yj.~\ 

The  Boke  of  Saint  Albans,  by  Dame  Juliana  Berners  ;  a  facsimile  ;  with  an  introduction 
by  William  Blades.  4°-     1881. 

The  Enemies  of  Books  ;  Illustrated  ;  Trubner  &  Co.,  London.  8"-     1881. 

Do.  Do.  8"      2nd  Edition.      1S81. 

Do.  Do.  S°-     3rd  Edition.     1882. 

The    Biography   and   Typography    of  William    Caxton,    England's    first    Printer ;  plates. 
2nd  Edition.  8°      1S82. 

Les  livres  et  leurs  Enemis.  8°      Paris  (Claudin)  1883. 

Numismata  Typographica ;  or  the  Medallic  History  of  Printing  ;  being  an  account  of 
the  Medals,  Jettons  and  Tokens  struck  in  commemoration  of  Printers  and  the  Ait 
of  Printing.     Illustrated.  4°-     1883. 

An  Account  of  the  German  Morality  Play,  entitled  "  Depositio  Cornuti  Typographic!  "  ; 
as  performed  in  the  1  7th  and  1 8th  centuries.      Illustrated.  4"'      1885. 

[  With  a  metrical  translation  0/  the  text  of  the  />lui:~\ 

The  Enemies  of  Books.  Revised  and  enlarged  by  the  Author.  (The  Book-Lover's 
Library.)     Elliot  Stock.  8'J-     1887. 

Do.  Do.  2nd  Edition.  1888. 

Bibliographical  Miscellanies,  No.  1  — Signatures.  8"       1890. 

Do.  Do.  No.  2 — The  Chained  Library  at  Wimbome  Minster. 

8"-      1890. 

I  in.  Do.  Nos.  3, 4,  5— Books  in  Chains.  8°-     1890. 

The  Pentateuch  ol  Printing.     Illustrated.     Elliot  Stock,  London.  4"'     1891. 


List  of  Fugitive  Pieces  and  Contributions  to  Periodicals.        xxi. 


List  of  Fugitive  Pieces  and  Contributions  to  Periodicals. 


Some  Account  of  the  Typography  at  St.  Albans  in  the   15th  century.  i860. 

[Privately  Printed.] 
["  This  went  no  further  than  half-a-dozen  proofs. — W.B."] 

Numismata  Typographica.  Numismatic  Chronicle,  July,  1S67. 

The    Early   Types    of    the    Royal    Printing    Office,    Paris,    and    the    Chancellor   of  the 
University  of  Cambridge.  Bookivorm  {Berfeau)  January,  1869. 

The  First  Printing  Press  in  England.  Do.,  October,  1869. 

[Calls  attention  to  the   technical  errors   and   anachronisms   oj    the  pictorial 

representations  of  Ca.x  ton's  first  printing  office. ~\ 

The  Early  Schools  of  Typography.  Bookworm  {Berfeau)  March,  1870. 

[Suggests  the  probability  of  an  independent  discovery  of  printing,    both,    in 
Holland  and  Germany.] 

Specimens  des  Caracteres  Typographiques.  Printers'  /Register,  April,  1870. 

(A  Review  ) 

The  Enschedc  Type  Foundry  at  Haarlem.  Bookworm  (Berfeau)  April,  1870. 

Pala;otypography — a  series  of  articles  in  Notes  and  Queries.  1870. 

[A  plea  for  a  scientific  study  of  early  printed  books.  ] 

Review  of  Munsell's  Chronology  of  Paper  and  Paper  Making.  Printers''  Register. 

March  and  April,  1871. 

Common  Typographical  Errors,  with  especial  reference  to  the  Text  of  Shakespere. 

Atheineum,  January  27th,  1872. 
[Dealing  with  corruptions  in  the  text  attributable  to  errors  in  composition.'] 

List   of   Medals   connected    with    Printers   and    the    Art   of   Printing,  exhibited  at    the 
opening  of  the  New  Library  and  Museum,  Guildhall,   London.  1872. 

[Privately  Printed.'] 

Timperley  and  his  Works.  Printers  Register,  December,  1S73. 

A  Strike  in  1798.  Do.,                   January,  1874. 

A  notice  of  Caslonl.  Caslon  Circular,  January,  1875. 

Early  Type  Specimen  Books.  Do.,               April,  1875. 


3  a 


xxii.  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

Early  Type  Specimen  Books.     A  series  of  articles.  Printers'  Register,  June,  1875. 

[Subsequently  reprinted  in  a  volume."] 

The  Literary  Almanack  ;   included  in  Southward's  Dictionary  of  Typography. 

8"      1875. 
[Gives  notes  of  the  principal  dates  and  events  connected  with  Printing  and 

Publishing.] 

Bibliotheca  Typographica.  Printers'1  Register,  1875-6. 

[A   list  of  publications   in  the  English  language,   treating  of  Printers  and 

Printing,     with    annotations.      The    completion    of    this    Bibliography    was 

suspended,  and  the  material    placed  by   Mr.  Blades  at  the  disposal  of  the 

compiler  of  the    "  Bibliography  of  Printing.''] 

Typographical  Jeux  de  Mots.  Printers'  Register,  October,  1876. 

William  Caxton  and  the  Development  of  the  Art  of  Printing  in  England  and  Scotland. 

Cax/on  Celebration  Catalogue,   1877. 

List  of  Medals  connected  with  Printers  and  the  Art  of  Printing.  Do.,  1877. 

[  With  historical  and  biographical  notes.] 

Portraits  and  Autographs  of  Printers  and  Publishers.  Do.,  1877. 

[With  historical  and  biographical  notes.] 

A  Guide  to  the  objects  of  chief  interest  in  the  loan  collection  of  the  Caxton  Exhibition. 

1877. 

Numismata  Typographica.  Begun     Printers'  Register,  July,  1878. 

[Reprinted  as  a  volume  in  iSSj.] 
An  Enterprising  Erench  Printing  Finn.  Printers'  Register,  Nov.  and  Dec,  1S78. 

The  Plantin  Museum.  Macmil/an's,  September,  1878. 

[This  was  also  translated  into  h'reuch.] 

William  (lye,  Printer,  of  Bath.  Printers   Register,  January,  1879. 

Books  and  their  Enemies.  Begun  Do.,  June,  1879. 

[Subsequently  expanded  into  "  The  Enemies  of  Books,"  1SS1.] 

Mr.  Hoe's  Typographical  Library.  Printers'  Register,  June,  1879. 

Franklin-ana.  Caslon  Circular,  April,  1879. 

Development  of  Books  and  their  Size-Notations.  Library  Notes,  January,  1SS0. 

A  Day  in  Paris.  Caslon  Circular,  July,  1S80. 

Almshouses  or  Pensions?  Printers    Register,  October,  1S80. 


List  of  Fugitive  Pieces  and  Contributions  to  Periodicals.      xxiii. 


A  Lad  of  Mettle.  Caslon  Circular,  April,  1881 . 

The  First  Printing  Press  at  Oxford.  Antiquary,  July,  1881. 

\_]\'ith  an  account  of  the  '  Exposicio'  of  "  1468"  and  a  list  of  early    Oxford 

types.'] 
Who  was  Bercula  ?  Bibliographer,  December,  1881. 

On  Caxton's  "Four  Sons  of  Amyon."  Athenceun,  April  14th,  1882. 

Vulgaria  Whittintoni,  1520.  Bibliographer,    1882. 

Messrs.  Blades'  New  Printing  Works.  Printers  Register,  April,  1882. 

Literary  Ghosts.  Caslon  Circular.  January,  1883 

How  to  Correct  Printers'  Proofs.     8pp.  1883. 

[Privately  Printed.] 

The    Invention    of   the   Steam    Press.       A  series  of  Articles   in   the  Printers'  Register, 

October,  1883,  to  June,  1S84. 
[The  object  of  these  Articles  was  to  defend  the  claims  of  Nicholson  to  the  honour 
of  the  invention,  against  those  put  forward  by  Herr  Goebel  on  behalf  of  the 
German,  Kihiig.  Herr  Goebel's  reply  was  published  in  the  same  periodical  in 
March  to  fune,  iSSj ;  Air.  Blades'  rejoinder  in  July,  1885,  and  Herr 
Goebel's  last  word  in  August,  f88j.] 

Memoir  of  Henry  Bradshaw.     A  review.  Printers'  Register,  March,  1SS6. 

The  Auchinlech  Press.  Caslon  Circular,  April,  18S6. 

Old  English  Letter  Foundries.  Leeds  Mercury,  March  9th,  18S7. 

[_A  review  of  Mr.  T.  B.  Reed's  book — Article  re-printed  in  Caslon  Circular.] 

On  the  Present  Aspect  of  the  Question,  Who  was  the  Inventor  of  Printing?  1S87. 

[Privately  Printed.] 

[  Tin's  was  a  paper  read  before  the  Library  Association  at  their  Birmingham 

Congress,  in  September,  188/.] 

Type  Composing  and  Matrix  Machines.  Printers'  Register,  September,  1887. 

The  Hagermann  Matrix  Stamping  Machine.  Printers'  Register,  January,  188S. 

The  Library  of  the  French  Protestant  Church.  Antiquary,  July,  1SS8. 

'  Form,'  or  '  Forme  '  ?  Printers'  Register,  August,  188S. 

Old  Taverns  in  Candlewick  Ward.  City  Press,  October,  1888. 

De  Ortu  Typograhia;.  Book-worm  (E.  Stock)  188S. 

[Notes  on  the  Invention  of  Printing  controversy.] 


XXIV. 


The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


A  New  French  Grammar.  Printers'  Register,  December,  1S88. 

[Article  unsigned.'] 

An  Account  of   Proposals  made  nearly  Two  Centuries  ago  to  found  Public  Libraries. 

Library,  1889. 

Cos/on  Circular,  January,  1S89. 

Printers'  Register,  February,  1889. 

AtlieiuTiim,  March  16th,  March  30th,  May  18th,  1889. 

Printers'  Register,  July,  18S9. 

Do.,         August,  1889. 


On  Trade  Unionism. 

Bibliography. 

Watermarks. 

A  New  Zealand  Caxton. 

MM.  Madden  and  Alkan 


[Article  unsigned.  ] 


On  Signatures  in  Old  Books. 
On  Paper  and  Paper-marks. 
On  Chained  Libraries. 
Two  "  Old  Style  "  Type  Founders. 


Library,  18S9. 

Do.,     1S89. 

Library  Association,  October,  1889. 

Caslon  Circular,  July,  1890. 


PROLOGUE 


THE  following  Chapters,  being  intended  as  a  popular 
summary  of  a  very  large  and  interesting  subject, 
only  profess  to  deal  with  the  most  important  aspects  of 
that  subject,  both  on  its  historical  and  practical  side. 

Of  late  years  the  question,  Who  invented  Printing?  has 
assumed  more  than  ever  a  prominent  place  in  bibliographical 
criticism,  and  many  books,  large  and  small,  have  been  pub- 
lished by  opposing  authors;  notably  by  Dr.  Van  der  Linde, 
in  support  of  the  claims  of  Gutenberg,  of  Mayence,  and  by 
Mr.  Hessels  on  the  side  of  Laurence  Coster,  of  Haarlem. 

The  unrestrained  abuse  and  the  attribution  of  base 
motives  in  which  both  these  writers  indulge  demands  the 
strongest    protest    from    all    who   wish   to   see   the   evidence 


xxvi.  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

treated  with  calmness  and  without  prejudice.  The  question 
is  not  at  all  whether  Dr.  Van  der  Linde  can  or  cannot  read 
Dutch  fifteenth  century  MSS.,  or  whether  Mr.  Hessels,  as  a 
Costerian,  is  incapacitated  from  writing  a  true  word  :  these 
mutual  recriminations  only  raise  a  feeling  of  repulsion  to  the 
whole  subject.  We  really  want  a  fair  and  impartial  criticism, 
based  on  acknowledged  facts  and  historical  evidence. 

As  to  the  various  forged  documents,  we  now  know  them, 
so  let  us  treat  them  as  incumbrances  and  throw  them  on  one 
side.     This  has  been  the  object  aimed  at  by 


THE    AUTHOR. 


fuly,    iSSS. 


THE    PENTATEUCH    OF    PRINTING 


THE    TLAN. 


GUTENBERG  /  % 


Creation 


Propagation 


Law    - 


Famous  Printers 


Second  "Birth 


Engraved  Stamps. 
Parchment  and  Paper. 
Playing  Cards. 
Engraved  Block-Books. 
Cast  Types. 


1 

Europe. 

2 

Asia. 

3- 

Africa. 

4- 

America. 

5- 

Australia. 

Typefounder. 

Compositor. 

Pressman. 

Paper. 

Ink. 


Before  A.D.   1500. 

A.D.   1501   to  A.I).  1600. 

A.D.   1601   to  A.D.  1700. 

A.D.   1 701    to  A.I).  1S00. 

A.D.   1801   to  A.D.  1890. 


Machine-made  Types. 
Printing  Machines. 
Composition  Rollers. 
Stereotype. 
Composing  Machines. 


GENESIS 


Let  Lygbt  be." 


GENESIS 


N  the  beginning!"  What  a  whirlpool  of  disputations  and 
theories  have  these  three  words  created!  Our  grandfathers 
attributed  the  creation  of  the  world  with  amusing  accuracy  to 
the  year  B.C.  4004;  and  just  as  geology  and  astronomy  have 
pushed  back  this  old-fashioned  "beginning"  to  indefinite  mil- 
lions of  years,  during  which  Evolution,  with  slow  but  certain 
progress,  was  working  out  this  world's  destiny  in  obedience  to 
the  fiat  of  the  Almighty,  so  modern  research  and  criticism 
have  demonstrated  that  the  same  law  of  evolution  applies  to 
mental  as  well  as  physical  phenomena,  and  that  in  both  cases 
what  is  follows  bv  fixed  law  on  what  was.  Looked  at  in  this 
light,  the  Art  of  Printing,  as  indeed  all  arts,  never  had  a 
definite  beginning,  but  was  the  necessary  development  of  a  previous 
process,  as  sure  to  come  in  the  due  course  of  events  as  harvest  is  to 
follow  seed-time. 

No  acorn,  no  oak  ;  and  the  idea  that  Printing,  Minerva-like, 
started  up,  perfect  from  its  birth,  in  the  form  of  the  Mazarin  Bible 
or  the  Mayence  Psalter,  will  not  bear  the  test  of  criticism,  although 
long  current  in  typographical  histories.  The  steam  engine,  the  gaso- 
meter,   the   railway,    the   telegraph,    the  telephone,    and   all   the  great 


IS    2 


The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


discoveries  of  modern  science,  had  to  pass  through  an  imperfect  infancy 
and  gradual  development;  why,  then,  imagine  that  Invention  in  the  one 
instance  of  typography  reached  perfection  by  a  sudden  leap  ? 

Typography,  or  the  art  of  combining  separate  letters  and  taking 
from  them  an  impression,  was  a  growth  of  the  fifteenth  century.  At 
that  time  progress  of  any  kind  was  much  more  slow  and  difficult  than 
now ;  and  we  hardly  realise  the  immense  advantage  all  modern  inven- 
tors have  derived  from  the  Printing-press.  Every  step  forward  in  art 
or  science  is  now  chronicled,  and  we  can  watch  the  infancy  and  growth 
of  each  great  discovery  through  all  its  stages.  But  just  imagine  the 
Printing-press  to  be  non-existent,  and  not  only  would  invention  be  a 
slow  and  tedious  process,  through  the  absence  of  that  previous  know- 
ledge which  leads  up  to  it,  but  of  those  tardy  advances  which  were 
made  posterity  would  learn  but  little  and  profit  less. 

In  this  respect  the  art  which  is  "omnium  artium  servatrix  " 
has  been  at  a  great  disadvantage.  Slowly  born,  just  as  the  nations 
were  emerging  from  centuries  of  torpor,  its  promoters  realised  to  a 
very  limited  extent  its  future  greatness,  and  omitted  to  register,  with 
any  attempt  at  accuracy,  either  the  date  of  its  birth  or  even  its 
parentage.  The  chroniclers  of  those  days,  mostly  ecclesiastics,  who 
noted  carefully  the  occurrence  of  an  unusually  high  flood  or  the  death 
of  some  obscure  abbot,  had  the  barest  recognition  for  the  young 
Hercules  whose  infancy  gave  no  intimation  of  his  future  prowess, 
and  whose  only  mission  seemed  to  be  the  manufacture  of  cheap  school 
books  or  poor  imitations  of  the  picturesque  old  manuscripts. 

But  here  the  question  arises,  Was  Printing,  strictly  speaking,  a 
development  of  the  fifteenth  century  ?  The  word  Printing  in  its  broad 
sense  means  "making  an  impression";  and  if  this  be  accepted  as  a 
definition,    we   can   trace   its  footsteps    to    a    period   long  before  man 


Genesis.  5 

stood  upon  this  earth.  All  over  the  world  we  find,  in  the  various 
strata  of  the  earth's  crust,  Nature  herself  printing  on  the  pliant 
rocks  representations  of  animals  and  trees  ;  a  life  history  entombed 
ages  before  language  was  born  or  man  possessed  the  power  of 
observation. 

Language  itself  was  of  necessity  a  slow  development,  and  equally 
slow  was  the  next  step ;  for  speech  existed  long  before  man  discovered 
that  the  human  voice,  which  informed  the  brain  through  the  ear,  could 
be  represented  by  figures  or  a  combination  of  signs  which  produced 
the  same  result  through  the  eye. 


LETTERS   STAMPED   ON 
GREEK  LAMP. 


ASSYRIAN    I  LAV    TABLET, 


LETTERS   STAMPED   ON 
ROMAN  LAMP. 


This  wonderful  development — the  art  of  writing — was  progress 
sufficient  for  many  centuries,  during  which  all  kinds  of  materials  were 
used  to  perpetuate  the  deeds  and  ideas  of  various  nations.  Leaves  of 
trees  and  pieces  of  wood  were  written  upon  ;  clays,  slabs  and  cylinders 
were  stamped  ;  seals,  even  signatures,  by  which  personal  authority  was 
transferred,   were  engraved  on   wood  or  metal  ;    vases  preserved  the 


The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


name  of  the  artist  who  formed  them,  and  even  the  common  clay  lamps 
of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  showed  the  names  of  their  makers,  printed 
with  a  stamp  in  bold  relief  upon  the  under  surface. 

The  style,  which  marked  the  waxen  tablets,  the  pen  or  brush,  with 
which  words  were  formed  on  the  papyrus  sheet,  and  the  pointed  reed 
or  quill  which  was  used  on  parchment  or  paper  were  simply  improve- 
ments, all  leading  on  to  still  further  developments. 

As  ages  rolled  on  and  learning  in- 
creased, book-writing  and  book-bindino- 
became  important  trades,  and  were  sub- 
divided into  special  branches,  such  as  the 
caligraphers,  who  wrote  luxuriously  for 
the  libraries  of  the  rich,  and  the  scri- 
veners, who  supplied  the  wants  of  poor 
scholars  and  priests. 

The    Chinese    were    probably    the 
nation  who  first  used  vegetable  fibre  to 
make  sheets  of  paper.      In   Europe,  our 
oldest   MSS.   are  upon  prepared  skins; 
I  ^  and   paper,    the    manufacture    of    which 

FIFTEENTH    CENTURY    PLAYKNG    CARD.  WHS     110t     COmmOtl     Until      the     twelfth     alld 

Engraved  on  wood.   ( From  sing er.)  thirteenth  centuries,    was    seldom    used, 

although  specimens  derived  from  the  Arabs  are  found  as  early  as 
the  sixth  century. 

Printing  from  engraved  blocks  of  wood  or  soft  metal  was  practised 
in  the  fourteenth  century,  when  rude  fiq-ures  of  the  Virgin  and  other 
saints,  often  coarsely  coloured  by  hand,  made  their  appearance.*  About 
the  same  time  ornamental  patterns  were  printed  on  stuffs  from  engraved 
blocks.       Cardboard   was    developed    from    paper,    and    playing-cards. 

See  Frontispiece. 


Genesis.  / 

printed  from  blocks,  were  common  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries.  All  these  methods  of  Printing  were  so  many  decided 
advances  towards  Typography ;  but  two  new  processes  were  still  neces- 
sary to  success,  viz. :  a  thicker  ink  than  previously  used,  and  some  kind 
of  press  with  which  to  make  a  regular  and  even  impression. 

The  next  step  was  the  making  of  that  interesting  class  of  books 
called  "  Block-books."  These  consisted  for  the  most  part  of  a  series 
of  rude  woodcuts  the  full  size  of  the  page,  representing  various  parts 
of  Scripture  History,  Heaven,  Hell,  Death,  and  the  Judgment.  The 
earliest  known  specimens  of  these  works  are  printed  in  a  brown  ink 
similar  to  distemper  drawings.  Lampblack  was  already  well  known 
to  the  ancients  as  a  basis  for  writing  ink,  and,  mixed  with  gum 
water,  formed  that  deep  glossy  hue  so  much  admired  in  many  old 
MSS.  ;  but  how  to  thicken  the  ink  so  as  to  make  it  suitable  for 
printing  from  a  raised  surface  was  a  discovery  of  great  importance, 
made  long  before  typography  was  invented.  This  object  was  at- 
tained by  prolonged  boiling  of  oil  and  then  grinding  it  with  carbon 
or  lampblack. 

After  experience  in  printing  small  wood  blocks,  the  production  of 
larger  ones,  such  as  are  seen  in  the  Block-books  was  an  easy  progres- 
sion. Most  of  these  were  representations  of  Bible  History,  and  a 
considerable  variety  of  opinion  is  still  held  concerning  their  use.  They 
were  called  "  Biblia  Pauperum,"  and  have  therefore  been  supposed  to 
be  books  for  poor  people.  This  idea  is  evidently  erroneous  if  we  think 
for  a  moment  how  uncommon  in  those  days  was  the  ability  to  read, 
particularly  among  the  great  mass  of  the  people.  It  is  more  probable 
that  these  pictorial  sermons  were  used  by  the  poor  friars,  many  of 
whom  could  scarcely  read,  and  in  preaching  trusted  to  memory  and 
imagination.  To  such,  the  numerous  suggestions  of  these  pictures 
would  be  invaluable. 


Genesis. 


In  the  later  Block-books,  engraved  sentences  and  even  half-pages  of 
explanation  are  seen.  The  dislike  of  wood  engravers  to  cut  letters  is  the 
same  now  as  it  was  four  centuries  and  a-half  ago,  the  mechanical  nature  of 
such  work  being  distasteful  to  any  one  with  artistic  feeling.  The  idea, 
therefore,  of  using  a  second  time  sentences,  already  engraved  and  printed, 
simply  by  cutting  them  away  from  the  old  block,  was  very  natural  and 


scriptorium  MONK  AT  WORK.       (From  Lacroix.) 


would  easily  lead  to  the  attempt  to  utilise  the  letters  separately.  Thus 
we  float  along  the  stream  of  gradual  development,  until  we  reach  movable 
types,  properly  termed  Typography.  This  was  never  an  invention  pure 
and  simple  which  suddenly  enlightened  the  mind  of  Gutenberg  (as  stated 
by  Van  der  Linde,  and  echoed  by  Theo.  De  Vinne),  but  an  end  success- 
fully accomplished,  after  numerous  efforts  and  gradual  advances.* 

*  The  reader  who  has  any  real  interest  in  these  "firstlings"  of  the  Printing-press  should  carefully 
examine  the  glass  cases  in  the  Grenville  Library  at  the  British  Museum,  where  specimens  of  Block 
Printing,  from  the  earliest  to  the  latest,  are  displayed  in  chronological  order. 


IO 


The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


The  full  meaning  of  the  discovery  of  typography  will  be  better 
understood  if  we  call  to  mind  the  intellectual  state  of  Europe  in  the 
middle  of  the  fifteenth  century, 

With  the  eclipse  of  literature  during  the  Middle  Ages,  the  Church 
alone,  and  that  in  a  sluggish  manner,  kept  up  the  manufacture  of 
manuscript  books,  principally  for  ecclesiastical  use.  But  when,  in  the 
fourteenth  century,  the  brain  of  Europe  began  to  show  unwonted 
activity — when  the  Lollard  doctrines  set  men  thinking  and  doubting — • 
when    in    the   fifteenth   century   all    Europe   became   excited   over   the 

discovery  of  new  worlds — when  military 
tactics  were  revolutionised  through  the 
invention  of  gunpowder — when  education 
became  general,  and  colleges  and  schools 
were  multiplied — then  the  minds  of  men 
everywhere  began  to  long  for  books,  more 
books ;  for  Cicero  and  Boethius,  for  Bibles, 
Psalters  and  Legends,  for  Chronicles,  Tales 
of  Travel  and  Romances,  for  Donatuses, 
School  books  and  Absies — at  such  a  time 
the  need  was  urgent,  the  demand  imperative, 
and  the   Printing-press  came. 

The  change,  however,  was  by  no  means 
sudden.  The  first  effect  of  the  increased  demand  was  to  create  a  great 
division  of  labour  in  the  manufacture  of  Manuscripts,  so  that  whereas 
two  or  three  Scribes  had,  in  former  times,  been  sufficient  to  complete 
a  Manuscript,  as  many  as  fifteen  different  trades  were  now  employed 
in  Paris,  Bruges  and  other  centres  to  produce  a  single  book.  Long 
before  the  invention  of  typography,  the  book-makers  of  Holland  had 
their  Guilds,  which  included  a  variety  of  the  trades  concerned  in  the  pro- 
duction, viz.  :  parchment-makers,  boss-makers,  binders,  etc.  Amongst 
them  we  now  and  then  tmd  enumerated  "  prenters,"  that  is,  the  printers 


HOOK  BINDER. —  I  DTI  I    CENTURY. 


Genesis. 


i  i 


from  engraved   blocks,    who    had   already  discovered   the   use  of  the 
press  and  a  thick  ink.     The  most  numerous  craft,  however,  was  that  of 


COVER    OF    A    T.noK.         1 5'1'H    CENTURY. 


the  Scribes,  who  wrote  only  the  running  text  ;  and  in  this  portion  of 
the  work  it  was,  where  speed  and  accuracy  were  most  wanted,  that  the 
Printing-press  was  destined  to  make  its  earliest  triumphs. 


c  2 


1 2  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

The  foundation  of  many  colleges  and  schools  in  the  fifteenth 
century  led  to  an  extensive  demand  for  school  books  and  grammars, 
the  most  popular  of  which  were  the  "  Donatus,"  a  grammar  so  called 
from  the  name  of  its  author,  and  "  Catho,"  a  kind  of  delectus  in  Latin. 
These  were  sold  at  a  cheap  price,  and,  to  lessen  the  cost  of  their 
production,  were  often  engraved  on  blocks  of  wood,  from  which  the 
pages  were  printed.  These  and  the  Block-books  already  described 
were  contemporary,  and  the  immediate  forerunners  of  separate  types. 

Think  of  the  numerous  editions  of  the  Eton  and  Valpy  Latin 
Grammar,  which,  two  generations  ago,  were  used  throughout  the 
kingdom,  and  you  may  well  wonder  how  it  is  that  there  is  extreme 

K>t^«*M<**44*n~*&*4Zix^  difficulty in  setting  a  single  c°py 

XV%$m?W$^\®^^Um  now.  rhey  have  nearly  all  perished. 
l^ftggto^Tfip^l^b^WI?  It  is  the  same  with  the  school  books 
iwJtf^l^SJlX^tfiWtf^g,      of  al]  aSes;  and  we  can'  therefore- 

Qu^i$®^ytmfo   hard,y woncler  that  the  fifteenth 

^t^dtt^ft^tjdtt^  century  school  books,  manuscript, 
or  printed  from  engraved  blocks, 
are  now  amongst  the  most  scarce 

FRAGMENT   OF   A   XYLOGRAPHIC    DONATUS.  _  _ 

(From  jfoiirop.)  of  bibliographical  rarities. 

The  process  of  cutting  letters  and  sentences  on  wood  is  much 
more  trying  work  than  engraving  figures  ;  the  Block-books  generally 
show  some  approach  to  artistic  feeling  in  the  pose  and  drapery  of 
the  figures,  hut  the  engraver  was  very  careless  over  the  letters. 
Doubtless  the  tedium  <>f  the  operation  would  suggest  the  idea  of 
separating  the  letters,  so  as  to  use  them  again  in  a  different  com- 
bination for  other  sentences.  We  have  indeed  direct  evidence  of 
such  attempts  having  been  made;  ;  for  (as  noticed  by  Mr.  Bradshaw 
in  his  "  Memoranda  No.  3,"  pp.  5  and  6)  a  Rlock-book  edition  of 
the  "  Biblia  Pauperum,"  printed  at  Zwolle,  was  cut  up,  and  the  pieces 
used    afterwards    in    a    different    combination.       The    same    operation 


w^^&i%m'?tem# 


Genesis. 


took  place  with  the  blocks  of  the  "  Speculum  nostrae  Salvationis," 
which  were  cut  up,  and  the  pieces  used  again  for  an  edition  printed 
at  Utrecht  in  1481.  This  could  not  be  successfully  accomplished 
with  separate  letters,  on  account  of  their  small  size,  but  the  attempt 
would  be  most  natural.  There  is  no  known  instance  of  separate 
wooden  types  having  been  used  by  any  early  printers,  but  in  certain 

editions  of  the  "Speculum"  we  dis- 
tinctly find  metal  movable  types, 
with  the  woodcuts  printed  in  one 
coloured  ink,  and  the  text  in  another. 
The  types  bear  plain  evidence  that 
they  were  cast,  but  in  an  extremely 
rude  way,  showing  a  much  more 
imperfect  method  of  casting  than 
appears  in  the  German  Indulgence 
of  1454  (which  is  the  earliest  known 
date  of  any  printed  piece),  or  the 
first  books  of  the  Mayence  printers. 
There  are  also  numerous  fragments 
of  the  Donatus,  of  the  Doctrinale, 
and  of  Catho,  in  various  editions, 
and  in  cast  types.  The  language  of 
some,  as  well  as  the  shape  of  the 
letters  in  all,  show  that  these  were, 


&0 


;i^:.T 


Etna 


"IMAGE  OF  PITY."     (WOOD  BLOCK  AND  TYl'E.) 

without  doubt,  produced  in  the  Low  Countries,  although  they  are  all, 
as  was  natural  for  such  unimportant  books,  without  any  printer's  name 
and  without  the  year  of  production,  thus  rendering  it  difficult  to  assign 
to  them  an  unimpeachable  date. 

After  much  study  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  Holland  was  not 
only  the  birthplace  of  these  Donatuses,  etc.,  but  that  they  gave  the 
starting  idea  to  the  Mayence  school  of  printers.     The  notice  of  the 


14  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


invention  of  Printing  written  at  Cologne  from  the  mouth  of  the  earliest 
printer  in  that  city,  one  who  had  learnt  his  art  from  the  first  printers 
at  Mayence,  seems  decisive.  The  Chronicler,  who  wrote  in  1499, 
states  that   Ulric   Zell   told  him  as  follows: — 

(1)  "Item:  This  most  revered  Art  was  discovered  first  of  all  at  Mentz  in  Germany, 
and  it  is  a  great  honour  to  the  German  nation  that  men  so  ingenious  were  there  found. 
This  was  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1440.  From  that  time  until  the  year  1450  the  Art  and 
the  things  pertaining  to  it  were  greatly  improved,  and  in  this  year  men  began  to  print, 
and  the  first  book  so  printed  was  the  Bible  in  Latin,  the  character  of  which  was  larger 
than  that  now  in  use  for  mass-books. 

(2)  "Item:  Although  this  Art  was  discovered  at  Mentz  in  the  manner  now  com- 
monly used,  yet  its  first  prefiguration  was  found  in  Holland,  in  the  Donatuses  which  had 
been  already  printed  there.     From  these  Donatuses  was  derived  the  origin  of  this  Art, 

which  is  now  more  masterly  and  clever  than  before,  and  far  more  ingenious 

The  first  inventor  of  Printing  was  a  citizen  of  Mentz,  born  in  Strasbourg,  and  called 
John  Gutenberg. 

(3)  "Item:  From  Mentz  the  Art  was  first  taken  to  Cologne,  thence  to  Strasbourg, 
and  thence  to  Venice.  This  beginning  and  progress  of  the  Art  was  told  me  by  that 
worthy  man,  Master  Ulric  Zell,  of  Hainault,  Printer,  of  Cologne,  in  this  present  year, 
1499,  by  whom  indeed  the  Art  was  first  brought  into  that  city." 

Similar  evidence  is  given  by  Mariangelus  Accursius,  an  Italian 
writer  of  the  fifteenth  century,  who,  while  attributing  the  invention  of 
types  as  then  used  to  Fust  and  Schceffer  at  Mayence,  says  that  the 
idea  was  certainly  taken  originally  from  the  Donatuses  printed  in 
Holland. 

Now  these  "  Items"  are  quite  distinct  in  idea.  The  first  tells  us 
that  Printing  was  invented  at  Mayence,  and  goes  on  to  particularise 
what  the  writer  means  by  Printing,  viz.:  a  Latin  Bible  in  large  type. 
The  second  qualifies  the  first  by  saying  that  "  this  Art,"  which,  of 
course,  means  the  same  art  as  was  used  for  the  Bible,  was  prefigured 
by  Donatuses  printed  in  Holland,  but  that  |ohn  Gutenberg's  invention 
was  more  masterly  and  skilful  than  the  Dutch  method.     The  third  tells 


Genesis.  1 5 

us  how  the  Art  spread,  and  the  writer's  authority  tor  his  statements. 
We  are  here  face  to  face  with  a  plain  statement  which,  to  my  mind, 
settles  the  point.  The  Dutch  had  already  types  cast  in  that  rough  and 
ready  manner  familiar  to  all  of  us  who  have  studied  the  wonderful 
fac-simile  plates  in  Holtrop's  "  Monuments  Typographiques,"  or  the 
"  Principia  Typographica  "  of  Sotheby.  Gutenberg,  according  to  this 
account,  commenced  his  study  of  typography  in  1440,  but  it  was  1450 
before  he  had  so  far  improved  in  his  method  of  casting  letters  that  he- 
could  venture  to  begin  upon  his  great  Bible. 

How  these  ten  years  were  spent,  and  how  near  to  1450  it  was 
before  the  sight  of  Dutch  Donatuses  gave  the  final  impulse  to  his 
genius,   we  shall  probably  never  know. 

Dr.  Van  cler  Linde  and  other  writers  who  agree  with  him  main- 
tain that  the  Cologne  Chronicler  must  have  referred  to  xylographic, 
i.e.,  block-book,  Donatuses,  and  that  the  sight  of  such  works  developed 
in  the  mind  of  Gutenberg  the  idea  of  movable  types.  Unfortunately 
for  this  argument  there  is  not  a  single  Dutch  block-book  Donatus 
known,  while  there  are  nineteen  different  editions  of  early  type-printed 
Dutch  Donatuses  already  catalogued — a  number  which  is  being  increased 
every  year.  Why,  too,  if  Gutenburg  derived  his  inspiration  from  the 
sight  of  a  Donatus  cut  in  wood,  did  he  ignore  those  of  his  own 
country,  which  were  before  his  eyes,  in  order  to  gain  his  impulse  from 
non-existent  Dutch  ones  ? 

It  is  an  important  bibliographical  fact  that  forty-seven  different 
books,  or  fragments  of  books,  exist,  printed  with  eight  different  founts 
of  type,  all  Dutch  in  origin,  all  without  any  name,  date,  or  place, 
nearly  all  discovered  in  the  bindings  of  fifteenth  century  manuscript  or 
printed  books,  thirty-three  of  them  on  vellum,  and  four  of  them  printed 
on  one  side  only.  What  can  we  do  with  this  interesting  regiment  of 
incunabula  ?    To  make  them  later  than,  or  even  contemporaneous  with, 


1 6  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

the  earliest  dated  Dutch  books  seems  impossible  :  we  might  as  well 
attribute  the  language  of  the  Canterbury  Tales  to  the  reign  of  good 
Queen  Bess  ;  but  place  them  about  1450  and  onwards,  and  they  take 
rank  naturally. 

We  will  here  notice  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the  many  and 
contradictory  accounts  of  the  origin  of  printing.  It  is  the  natural 
tendency  of  all  writers  to  Hero-worship.  The  value  of  a  central  figure 
around  which  may  be  grouped  the  features  of  a  story  is  fully  appreciated 
by  all  authors  :  it  strengthens  the  weak  and  adds  vigour  to  the  strong. 
This  bias  is  recognised  in  the  world's  earliest  records.  Honour  and 
glory,  often  semi-divine,  are  attributed  to  the  inventor.  For  the  dis- 
covery of  letters  we  must  have  a  Cadmus  ;  Apollo  first  made  harmony  ; 
Moses,  according  to  Vergil,  originated  trumpets  ;  Vulcan,  iron  weapons  ; 
Noah,  ships — and  so  on.  And  so,  Dutchmen  who  claimed  the  invention 
of  printing  for  Holland  found  the  embodiment  of  it  in  Coster;  Germans, 
for  a  similar  reason,  revere  Gutenberg  ;  and  Italians,  their  countryman 
Castaldi.  The  Hero  obtained,  definite  records  and  historical  particulars 
group  themselves  around  him,  and  thus  with  a  few  personal  details  an 
impression  of  truthfulness  is  given  to  the  story  which  carries  conviction 
to  the  reader's  mind,  while  at  the  same  time  artistic  requirements  are 
satisfied. 

The  duty  of  the  historian  and  critic  is  to  separate  judiciously  the 
kernel  of  truth  from  the  husk,  by  which  in  the  course  of  time  it  is  sure 
to  be  surrounded — to  preserve  carefully  the  one  and  reject  the  other. 

Although  I  think  we  must  look  to  Holland  for  the  earliest 
specimens  of  typography,  it  does  not  follow  that  we  must  believe  all 
the  story  as  given  by  Junius.  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  he  gave 
the  account  of  Coster  as  he  received  and  believed  it  ;  and  his  was 
not  an  age  in  which  criticism  was  expected,  or  was  able  to  separate 
husk  from   kernel. 


(iciicsis. 


'7 


STATUE  of  coster.      (From  Zeis.) 


1 8  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


If  we  suppose  the  Cologne  Chronicler  of  1499  to  have  misunder- 
stood his  informant  as  to  the  Dutch  "  prefigu ration  "  ;  or  if  the  Laurenz 
Janszoon  Coster  of  Junius  and  the  Haarlem  Archives  was  perfectly 
innocent  of  any  typographical  proclivities,  it  still  leaves  the  Costeriana 
to  be  accounted  for  ;  and  it  is  these  silent  witnesses,  dug  out  from  the 
earliest  strata  of  typographical  deposits,  which  by  their  evidence  should 
determine  the  vexed  question. 

It  is,  however,  necessary  to  know  the  story  which  was  current 
when  Junius  wrote,  and  we  therefore  give  it  as  the  accepted  truth  in 
his  time  : — 

"There  lived,  about  1440,  at  Haarlem,  in  the  market-place  opposite  the  Town 
Hall,  in  a  respectable  house,  still  in  existence,  a  man  named  Laurens  Janszoon  Coster,  i.e., 
Laurence,  son  of  John  Coster.  The  family  name  was  derived  from  the  hereditary  office 
of  Sacristan  or  Coster  of  the  Church — a  post  both  honourable  and  lucrative.  The  town 
archives  give  evidence  of  this,  his  name  appearing  therein  many  times,  and  in  the  Town 
Hall  are  preserved  his  seal  and  signature  to  various  documents.  To  this  man  belongs  the 
honour  of  inventing  Printing — an  honour  of  which  he  was  unjustly  robbed,  and  which 
afterwards  was  ascribed  to  another.  The  said  Laurence  Coster,  one  day  after  dinner, 
took  a  walk  in  the  wood  near  Haarlem.  While  there,  to  amuse  himself,  he  began  to  cut 
letters  out  of  some  beech-bark.  The  idea  struck  him  to  ink  some  of  these  letters  and 
use  them  as  stamps.  This  he  did  to  amuse  his  grand-children,  cutting  them  in  reverse. 
He  thus  formed  two  or  three  sentences  on  paper.  The  idea  germinated,  and  soon,  with 
the  assistance  of  his  son-in-law,  and  by  using  a  thick  ink,  he  began  to  print  whole  pages, 
and  to  add  lines  of  print  to  the  Block-books,  the  text  of  which  was  the  most  difficult  part 
to  engrave.  Junius  had  such  a  book,  called  '  Spieghel  onzer  Behoudenisse.'  It  should 
have  been  said  that  Coster  was  descended  from  the  noble  house  of  Brederode,  and  that 
his  son-in-law  was  also  of  noble  descent.  Coster's  first  efforts  were  of  course  very  rude, 
and  to  hide  the  impressions  of  the  letters  on  the  back,  they  pasted  the  leaves,  which  had 
one  side  not  printed,  together.  His  letters  at  first  were  made  of  lead,  which  he  afterwards 
changed  for  tin.  Upon  his  death  these  letters  were  melted  down  and  made  into  wine- 
pots,  which  at  the  time  when  Junius  wrote  were  still  preserved  in  the  house  of 
Gerrit  Thomaszoon,  the  grandson  of  Coster.  Public  curiosity  was  greatly  excited  by 
Coster's  discovery,  and  he  gained  much  profit  from  his  new  process.  His  trade,  indeed, 
so  increased  that  he  was  obliged  to  employ  several  workmen,  one  of  whom  was  named 


Genesis. 


19 


John.  Some  say  this  was  John  Faust,  afterwards  a  partner  with  Gutenberg,  and  others 
say  he  was  Gutenberg's  brother.  This  man  when  he  had  learnt  the  Art  in  all  its 
branches,  took  the  opportunity  one  Christmas  eve,  when  all  good  people  are  accustomed 
to  attend  Church,  to  break  into  the  rooms  used  for  printing,  and  to  pack  up  and  steal  all 
the  tools  and  appliances  which  his  master,  with  so  much  care  and  ingenuity,  had  made, 
lie  went  off  by  Amsterdam  and  Cologne  to  Mayence,  where  he  at  once  opened  a 
workshop  and  reaped  rich  fruit  from  this  theft,  producing  several  printed  books.  The 
accuracy  of  this  story  was  attested  by  a  respectable  bookbinder,  of  great  age  but  clear 


COSTER  COMMEMORATION   MEDAL,    1856.      ( From  a  Medal  ill  the  Author's  Collection. ) 

memory,  named  Cornelis,  who  had  been  a  fellow  servant  with  the  culprit  in  the 
house  of  Coster,  and  indeed  had  occupied  the  same  bed  for  several  months,  and 
who  could  never  talk  of  such  baseness  without  shedding  tears  and  cursing  the 
thief." 

While  giving  Junius  all  credit  for  recounting  this  story  as  he  found 
it  handed  down  by  tradition,  we  must  be  careful  not  to  take  it  too 
literally.     Stories  of  this  kind  although  founded  on  fact,  always  grow  by 


11  2 


20  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

repetition.  The  central  truths  illuminated  by  the  Cologne  Chronicle  seem 
to  be :  ( i . )  The  discovery  of  movable  letters  was  a  growth  from  small 
beginnings.  (2.)  The  country  was  Holland  and  the  place  probably 
Haarlem.      (3.)  Gutenberg  derived  his  ideas  of  printing  from  Holland. 

Let  us  now  expound  the  claims  of  Gutenberg  as  gathered  from 
undoubted  evidence  and  facts. 

John  Gutenberg  is  a  real  man  in  history.  He  was  born  at  Mentz 
in  1399,  and  some  members  of  his  family  are  known.  Several  docu- 
ments testify  to  his  existence,  but  the  first  which  by  possibility  connects 
him  with  printing  is  an  action  at  law  brought  against  him  by  a  man 
named  Dritzehen  in  1439  to  recover  a  loan  of  money.  The  original 
text  of  this  document,  unfortunately,  cannot  be  verified,  having  been 
destroyed  at  the  siege  of  Strasbourg. 

Numerous  witnesses  gave  evidence  which  showed  Gutenberg  as 
practising  several  arts  by  which  he  made  money,  one  of  which  was  a 
great  secret  carried  on  by  him  in  a  ruined  convent  near  Strasbourg. 
Here  he  was  surprised  at  his  work  by  his  creditors,  to  whom  at  last  he 
divulged  his  secret,  making  partners  of  them.  Some  curious  particulars 
of  tools  and  four  pieces  of  wood  to  form  a  press  are  given  in  the 
depositions,  and  apparently  refer  to  experiments  connected  with  print- 
ing. The  want  of  capital  to  carry  on  his  experiments  is  also  very 
evident.  Andrew  Dritzehen  had  helped  him  for  some  time,  but  died 
before  success  crowned  their  efforts.  Gutenberg  then  tried  to  obtain 
possession  of  all  the  materials  which  Andrew  Dritzehen  had  left,  but 
his  partners  stepped  in  and  took  them,  although  they  were  not 
sufficiently  instructed  to  make  any  use  of  them.  This  action  went 
against  Gutenberg,  who,  now  much  impoverished,  sold  the  last  remain- 
ing portion  of  his  paternal  estate.  Again  and  again  he  had  to  borrow 
money,  and  in  1450  entered  into  a  five-years'  partnership  with  John 
Fust,  each  to  have  half  the  profits  of  the  business. 


Genesis.  2 1 

As  time  rolled  on  and  nothing  satisfactory  resulted,  Fust  took 
advantage  of  his  legal  powers,  and  by  a  lawsuit  to  recover  his  loan 
compelled  Gutenberg,  in  November,  1455,  to  give  up  all  the  printing 
plant,  which  he  conveyed  away,  and  with  the  assistance  of  Peter 
Schceffer,  who  married  Fust's  daughter,  started  a  printing-office  on 
his  own  account.  Gutenberg,  deprived  of  all  his  material  and  without 
money,  but  not  disheartened,  now  found  a  new  friend  in  Conrad 
Homery,  Syndic  of  Mentz,  with  whose  help  new  types  and  presses 
were  made.  Misfortune  and  debt  still  pursued  him,  and  had  not  the 
materials  been  the  property  of  Homery,  he  would  have  been  again 
deprived  of  them.  In  1460  the  book  known  as  the  "Catholicon"  was 
printed,  and  several  other  small  books.  The  city  of  Mentz  was  sacked 
in  1462  and  its  trade  entirely  destroyed.  The  next  we  hear  of 
Gutenberg  is  his  appointment  in  1465  to  be  one  of  the  gentlemen 
of  the  Court  to  Adolphus  II,  in  whose  service  he  remained  till  his 
death,  about  1468.  Gutenberg's  types  were  removed  to  Eltville, 
where  his  relatives,  Henry  and  Nicholas  Bechtermunze,  printed  with 
them  in   1467. 

The  weak  part  of  Gutenberg's  case  is  that  only  in  the  year  1462 
do  we  first  meet  with  any  mention  of  him  as  a  printer,  and  that  mention 
not  in  Germany  but  in  Paris.  This  interesting  reference  was  dis- 
covered by  the  Librarian  of  the  Basle  City  Library,  who  examining  a 
copy  of  "  Gasparini  Pergamensis  Orthographia "  preserved  in  the 
Heylin  collection  found  a  unique  Prologue  from  the  pen  of  Heylin 
the  donor.  The  book,  as  is  well  known,  was  printed  at  the  Sorbonne 
Press,  Paris,  in  1470,  and  the  portion  of  the  Prologue  which  is  of 
most  interest  to  us  reads  thus  : — 

"  ....  I  imagine  that  the  friends  of  literature  will  receive  great  benefit  from 
the  Art  invented  by  the  new  sort  of  Printers,  who  in  these  our  days  have  (like  the  warriors 
from  the  Trojan  Horse)  issued  from  the  womb  of  Germany  and  scattered  themselves 
abroad. 


22  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


"  In  this  country  (France)  the  story  is,  that  a  certain  John  Gutenberg,  not  far  from 
Mayence,  was  the  first  inventor  of  the  printing  art,  by  means  of  which  books  are  made, 
not  with  a  reed  as  of  old,  nor  with  a  pen,  as  in  our  days,  but  with  metal  letters,  and  that 
rapidly,  evenly,  and  elegantly." 

Then  after  noticing  the  divine  honours  bestowed  upon  Bacchus 
and  Ceres  for  endowing  mankind  with  the  kindly  fruits  of  the  earth, 
he  adds  : — 

"  Gutenberg  has  made  a  discovery  still  more  fruitful  and  more  divine  for  he  has 
discovered  a  way  by  which  letters  may  be  engraved  and  by  their  means  all  that  can  be 
thought  and  spoken  is  at  once  reproduced  and  so  passed  on  to  posterity." 

The  remainder,  though  in  praise  of  the  new  art,  adds  nothing  to 
this  testimony. 

Here  then  we  may  leave  the  vexed  problem  of  the  Genesis  of 
Printing. 

It  requires  but  a  slight  examination  of  the  early  Donatuses, 
whether  Dutch  or  German,  to  be  convinced  that  whatever  the  means 
adopted  to  make  the  types,  they  were  quite  dissimilar  to  those  adopted 
at  a  later  date.  We  shall  probably  never  know  the  slow  degrees  by 
which  the  punch,  matrix  and  type-mould  were  brought  to  perfection. 
The  old  types,  apparently  15th  century,  described  later  in  our  chapter 
on  "  Leviticus,"  prove  that  in  a  most  essential  particular,  viz.,  the 
regular  height  of  each  letter,  there  was  great  inferiority.  But,  although 
the  crude  method  of  casting  in  the  15th  century  was  undoubtedly 
perfected  by  later  generations,  one  thing  is  certain  that  the  whole 
dispute  concerning  the  invention  of  Typography  as  a  development  of, 
though  distinct  from,  Printing,  would  be  settled  by  a  reply  to  the  simple 
question:  When'  and  by  whom  were  the  first  movable  types  cast? 

This  question  has  become  very  involved,  and  has  evoked  so  much 
bad  feeling,  been  darkened  by  so  many  forgeries  on  all  sides,  and  has 
roused  such  fierce  national  jealousy,  that  the  necessary  labour  of 
sifting  the  true  from  the  untrue  is  a  thankless  and  wearisome  task. 


EXODUS. 


Tbeii  sound  is  gone  out  into  all  lands. 


EXODUS 


IN  these  days  of  rapid  inter-communication  every  good  invention 
becomes  public  property  in  a  very  short  time.  Not  so  in  the 
fifteenth  century.  Typography  did  not  spread  rapidly  for  many 
years  after  its  birth.  The  workmen  were  probably  bound  to  secrecy, 
and  the  Press  itself  had  to  create  work  for  itself  by  educating  a 
public  up  to  the  reading  point.  Indeed,  so  restricted  was  the  sale 
of  books  at  first,  that  in  a  commercial  sense  the  profits  were  very  poor. 
In  October,  1462,  one  printing-house  at  Mayence  was  at  work, 
under  Fust  and  Schceffer,  who  are  supposed  to  have  had  many 
workmen  in  their  service.  It  is  not  known  for  certain  that  Gutenberg, 
who  a  little  later  was  printing  at  Eltville,  had  at  that  time  a  press 
in  the  same  city  :  probably  he  had.  Pfister  at  the  same  time  was 
printing  in  Bamberg,  and  Mentelin  and  Eggestein  at  Strasbourg. 
Besides  these  we  know  no  other  presses  then  existing,  and  not  much 
had  yet  been  issued  from  these  four  put  together.  Bernard,  indeed, 
says  that  several  neighbouring  towns  had  established  printing-presses, 
although  of  this  there  is  really  no  proof.  But  the  captivity  of  the 
young  giant  was  soon  to  end,  for,  in  the  month  and  year  just  stated, 
the  famous  city  of  Mayence,  which  had  become  the  battlefield  for 
two  opposing  archbishops,  was  captured  by  Adolphus  of  Nassau  and 


26  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


given  up  to  pillage.  From  a  flourishing  city  it  became  a  half-burnt, 
forsaken  ruin,  and  all  who  could,  deserted  it.  Schaab  gives  a  fearful 
account  of  the  devastation  and  fire  which  befel  this  once  populous 
city.  Fust  and  Schceffer's  printing-office  was  burnt  down,  masters 
and  workmen  were  driven  away.  This  Exodus  of  practical  Printers 
formed  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Art.  Presses  were  soon 
established  by  the  fugitives  in  Cologne,  Rome,  Augsburg,  Nurem- 
berg, and  other  places.  In  Cologne,  especially,  typography  took 
deep  root  and  flourished.  Here  Ulric  Zell,  who  had  learnt  the 
art  under  Peter  Schceffer,  established  a  press,  which  proved  very 
prolific.  It  was  one  of  Z ell's  workmen  who,  in  1499,  penned  the 
remarkable  statement  about  Germany  having  taken  the  first  idea  of 
printing  from  the  Donatuses  of  Holland.  Zell's  first  dated  book  bears 
the  year  1466  ;  but  as  nearly  all  his  books  were  issued  without  any 
date,  it  is  more  than  probable  he  began  two  or  three  years  earlier. 
His  types  are  bold  and  easily  recognised;  they  are  of  three  sizes, 
and  all  of  the  same  style.  A  few  years  later  several  other  printers 
were  at  work  in  the  same  city,  which,  by  the  end  of  the  century, 
boasted  of  a  considerable  number  of  presses,  that  of  Arnold  Ther 
Hoernen  being  the  best  known. 

In  1469  printing  found  its  way  to  Nuremberg,  where  Henri 
Keffer,  one  of  the  original  Mentz  printers,  joined  in  partnership 
with  Jean  Sensenschmidt,  and  published  many  books.  Frederich 
Creussner  was  another  Nuremberg  printer  of  whose  works  many 
have  survived ;  but  the  most  celebrated  was  Anthony  Coburger,  one 
of  the  greatest  and  most  artistic  printers  of  the  fifteenth  century,  who 
kept  twenty-four  presses  going  in  this  city,  besides  branch  establish- 
ments at  Basle  and  Lyons.  In  this  town,  too,  was  produced,  in  1 5 1 7, 
a  piece  of  work,  the  technical  peculiarities  of  which  it  has  puzzled  even 
printers  and  type-founders  to  understand.  This  was  the  celebrated 
"  Theurdanck,"  a  beautifully  illustrated   book  printed   for  the  Emperor 


Exodus.  2  7 

Maximilian,  by  Melchior  Pfinzig,  in  which  the  flourishes  and  orna- 
mentation rise  or  fall  from  one  line  to  another  in  a  manner  apparently 
irreconcilable  with  types  which  must  be  cast  in  a  mould.  The  typo- 
graphical curiosities  of  this  book  are  indeed  most  interesting,  and 
afford  evidence  of  skill  in  typefounding,  which  could  only  have  been 
developed  where  Imperial  funds  were  used  for  the  education  of  both 
punch-cutters  and  typefounders.  From  that  time  until  lately,  no  such 
work  has  issued  from  any  printing-office.  In  Germany,  however, 
and  in  America,  the  modern  typefounders  have  in  the  last  few  years 
shown  capabilities  of  combination  in  well  devised  types,  which  prove 
that  were  the  "  Theurdanck  "  to  be  placed  in  their  hands  to-day  for 
reproduction,  they  could  not  only  equal,  but  even  excel  that  wonderful 
effort  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Berthold  Rot,  of  Hanau,  one  of  Gutenberg's  workmen,  carried 
the  art  to  Basle,  and  set  up  his  press  before  146S;  and  six  years  later 
there  were  three  printing-houses  at  work  in  that  city. 

A  press  was  established  in  Augsburg,  about  1469,  by  Gunther 
Zainer,  who  came  from  Strasbourg,  and  had  the  credit  of  being  among 
the  first  to  introduce  the  Roman  character  into  Germany. 

The  City  of  Spire  received  printing  in  1471,  and  speedily  became 
famous,  sending  out  in  her  turn  several  pioneer  printers. 


In  Italy  the  first  press  was  erected  in  the  monastery  of  Subiaco, 
a  few  miles  from  Rome,  by  two  workmen,  Sweynheym  and  Pannartz, 
whose  earliest  work  bears  the  date  1465.  In  1467  the  same  printers 
moved  to  Rome,  where  they  soon  became  famous  for  their  editions  of 
the  classics,  which  were  published  with  remarkable  speed  one  after 
another.  Here,  of  course,  the  types  used  were  Roman ;  that  shape 
being  as  natural  to  Italy  as  the  Gothic  types  to  other  countries.  Had 
the  sale  of  their  books  been  at  all  commensurate  with  the  rapidity  of 


e  2 


28  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

their  production,  all  would  have  been  well,  but  at  the  end  of  five  years 
the  two  printers  found  themselves  burdened  with  heavy  stocks  of  unsold 
books,  and  with  empty  purses,  while  several  rival  printers  had  erected 
presses  in  the  same  city.  They  appealed  to  the  Pope  for  assistance, 
but  with  what  success  is  unknown.  Neither  of  them  battled  much 
longer  with  the  ills  of  this  life,  Death  claiming  both  printers  in  1477, 
just  as  our  Caxton  was  starting  in  his  typographical  career. 

After  Rome,  the  Printing-press  travelled  to  Venice,  where  Jean  de 
Spire  introduced  the  new  art  in  1469.  His  name,  however,  was  soon 
overshadowed  by  the  renown  of  two  celebrated  typographers,  Nicholas 
Jenson  and  Christopher  Valdarfer,  whose  beautiful  Roman  types  were 
much  admired.  Vindelin  of  Spire,  brother  of  Jean,  also  was  a  famous 
printer  in  the  same  city. 

Lucca,  Foligno,  Milan,  and  Florence  received  printing  early,  but 
there  is  no  space  to  add  particulars. 


Considering  the  pre-eminent  position  held  by  Paris  and  its 
celebrated  University  in  the  fifteenth  century,  it  is  somewhat  remark- 
able that  printing  did  not  take  root  in  France  until  the  year  1 47 1 . 
Printed  books  from  other  cities,  however,  were  not  uncommon,  having 
been  sold  there  continuously  for  nine  years  from  the  time  that  Fust 
brought  the  first  printed  Bible  to  Paris  in  1462,  and  when  Schceffer 
in  1468  sold  there  an  edition  of  Cicero. 

At  last  Guillaume  Fichet,  who  was  Rector  of  the  Sorbonne,  and, 
although  by  birth  a  German,  was  anxious  to  see  some  of  his  own 
writings  printed  by  the  new  method,  joining  with  Jean  Heynlin,  a 
Swiss,  and  professor  at  the  same  University,  sent  to  Switzerland  for 
workmen  to  start  a  printing-office  in  Paris.  Three  men,  Ulric  Gering, 
Michael  Friburger,  and  Martin  Cranz,  all  of  Basle,  answered  to  the  call, 
and  after  occupying  a  year  in  preparation,  completed  the  first  book  ever 


Exodus. 


29 


printed  on  French  soil,  in  the  precincts  of  the  famous  Sorbonne.     It 
was  entitled    "  Gasparini    Pergamensis    Epistola;,"   a   work  celebrated 


Portrait  qv  Ulric  Gering.     (From  Philippe.') 


for  the  classical  beauty  of  its  style,  to  which  Fichet  added  an  intro- 
ductory chapter.      After  an  edition  of  "  Sallust "  and   the   "  Orationes 


30  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

Bessarionis"  came  Fichet's  own  work,  "  Rhetorical  Ficheti."  Of  this 
he  appears  to  have  been  very  proud.  He  took  great  pains  to  have 
several  copies  carefully  printed  on  vellum  for  presents,  which  were 
splendidly  illuminated,  and  to  each  he  added  a  specially  printed  preface 
written  by  himself,  and  suited  to  some  particular  recipient,  so  that  in 
this  respect  each  copy  was  unique.  These  copies  were  presented  to  the 
French  King,  to  the  Pope,  to  Edward  IV  of  England,  and  a  few  other 
distinguished  personages,  whose  names  are  all  detailed  in  the  interesting 
history  of  Parisian  printing  lately  issued  by  M.  J.  Philippe. 

After  nearly  three  years'  work,  and  when  thirty  books  had  been 
published,  half  in  quarto  and  half  in  folio,  with  an  average  of  seventy- 
two  pages  to  each,  the  expense  was  found  too  heavy,  and  in  December, 
1472,  the  Sorbonne  Press  was  relinquished. 

It  is  curious  to  notice  with  reference  to  the  earliest  press  of  France, 
that  the  first  Printers  there  were  not  Frenchmen,  and  that  they  printed 
their  earliest  books  in  Roman  type  ;  that  the  first  twelve  books  printed 
in  France  were  not  in  the  French  tongue  ;  and  the  very  first  book 
issued  in  the  French  tongue  was  not  printed  in  France.  The  first 
book,  indeed,  printed  in  English,  and  the  first  book  printed  in  French, 
issued  from  the  same  press,  that  of  Colard  Mansion  of  Bruges. 
The  English  book  was  "The  Recuyell  of  the  Histories  of  Troye"  and 
the  French,  "  Le  Recueil  des  Histoires  de  Troye."  Both  are  undated, 
but  were  probably  printed  in  1474. 

The  Sorbonne  Press  having  ceased  work  in  1472,  Gering 
with  his  associates,  started  a  fresh  printing-house  on  their  own 
account,  two  of  their  workmen  doing  the  same.  These  men, 
by  adapting  themselves  to  the  times,  and  printing,  not  classics 
in  Roman  type  for  a  few  scholars,  but  works  popular  with  all  who 
could  read,  succeeded  well.  These  books  were  printed  in  a 
picturesque  Gothic  type  made  in  imitation  of  the  manuscript  books  to 


Exodus.  3 1 

which  French  readers  were  accustomed.  About  1477  Gering's  associates 
retired,  and  he  was  joined  by  a  printer  named  Maynyal.  To  Englishmen 
this  is  a  fact  of  some  interest,  as  it  was  to  this  same  Maynyal  that 
William  Caxton  applied  when  he  wanted  help  to  print  a  Sarum  Missal 
in  1484.      In  this  missal  Caxton's  trade  mark  appeared  for  the  first  time. 


The  Netherlands  did  not  receive  the  new  art  until  1473  ;  and,  as 
if  to  make  up  for  lost  time,  presses  were  erected  at  Alost,  Utrecht,  and 
Louvain,  all  in  the  same  year.  There  is  a  beautiful  statue  in  the  city 
of  Alost  to  Thierry  Martens,  who  first  printed  there.  In  Louvain  the 
well-known  typefounder  and  printer,  John  Veldener,  began  work  in 
1473,  and  in  consequence  of  the  great  similarity  of  his  types  to  those 
of  Caxton  he  is  supposed  by  some  bibliographers  to  have  supplied 
England  with  the  first  printing  materials  used  there.  Veldener  left 
Louvain  in  1478  to  print  at  Utrecht. 

In  Brussels  the  press  was  erected  in  a  monastery,  where  "  The 
Brothers  of  Common  Life"  printed  from  1476  to  1487.  The  city  of 
Bruges  has  a  special  interest  for  English  bibliographers,  as  it  was  there 
that  for  thirty  years  William  Caxton  resided.  Here  Colard  Mansion 
started  a  press  about  1473,  although  the  earliest  date  in  any  of  his 
books  is  1475.  More  particulars  of  this  printer  and  his  connection 
with  the  first  English  press  will  be  given  when  narrating  the  story  of 
Caxton's  life.  In  Gouda,  Gerard  Leeu,  also  a  friend  of  William 
Caxton,  began  to  print  in  1477.  Antwerp  did  not  see  a  printing-press 
until  1482,  while  Leyden  and  Ghent  waited  until  1483.  Haarlem  itself 
cannot  show  a  book  with  a  printed  date  earlier  than  14S3,  but,  as 
shown  in  the  previous  chapter,  the  probability  is  that  printing  was 
practised  there  much  earlier. 

In  forming  opinions  upon  debatable  points  in  early  printed  books, 
much  caution  is  necessary,  and  the  more  one  studies  the  earliest 
specimens    the    greater    becomes     the    conviction    that    all    dogmatic 


The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


assertion  not  founded  on  positive  dates  should  be  avoided.  Yet,  before 
leaving  the  Netherlands,  it  may  be  well  to  draw  attention  to  some  points 
which  ought  to  receive  consideration  with  reference  to  the  source  from 
which  the  Netherland  printers  obtained  their  typographical  knowledge. 
In  a  book  intended  for  popular  reading,  technical  peculiarities  would  be 
tedious  ;  but  to  anyone  practically  acquainted  with  type-printing  it  is 
very  difficult  to  believe  that  the  early  Netherland  books,  say  the  Colard 
Mansions  and  the  Veldeners,  could  have  been  produced  by  men  who 
had  learnt  to  print  from  disciples  of  the  Gutenberg  School. 

The  books  of  Ulric  Zell  of  Cologne  show,  typographically 
speaking,  ways  of  working  superior  to  and  differing  from  the  books 
of  Caxton  and  Mansion ;  and  it  is  against  all  probability  that  the 
Netherland  printers,  after  learning  their  art  in  such  a  school  would, 
upon  returning  to  their  own  country,  have  adopted  customs  and  habits 
of  printing  belonging  to  an  early  and  imperfect  state  of  the  art,  which 
they  could  never  have  seen  in  the  workshops  of  their  instructors. 
That  the  early  specimens  of  Dutch  printing  shown  with  such  wonderful 
accuracy  in  Holtrop's  "  Monuments  Typographiques  "  could  have  been 
true  descendants  of  the  Mayence  Psalter  and  Gutenberg  Bible,  is 
more  difficult  to  believe  than  the  origination  of  a  Dutch  school  of 
typography  which  was  improved  by  and  merged  into  the  German 
school. 


The  Exodus  of  the  Press  and  its  journeyings  through  the  principal 
cities  of  Europe  having  been  thus  recorded,  we  have  now  especially 
to  narrate  the  circumstances  in  which  it  took  root  and  ilourished  in 
Great  Britain. 

Although  some  of  the  older  writers  throw  doubt  upon  the  priority 
of  William  Caxton's  press  in  England,  there  is  now  a  general  consensus 
of  opinion   that   the   claims   of  Oxford    to    have  had  a   Press  in    1468 


Exodus.  3  3 

cannot  be  sustained.  To  state  and  refute  these  claims,  which  are 
founded  entirely  on  a  typographical  blunder  in  the  printing  of  a  date, 
would  occupy  too  much  space.  It  will  therefore  be  better  at  once  to 
trace  the  career  of  the  Westminster  Press. 

William  Caxton  was  not  born  in  141  2,  as  nearly  all  his  biographers 
assert,  but  about  ten  or  twelve  years  later,  as  we  learn  from  the  records 
preserved  at  Mercers'  Hall,  Cheapside.  His  name  is  there  inscribed  as 
having  been  apprenticed  in  the  year  1438.  His  birthplace  was  some- 
where in  the  Weald  of  Kent,  perhaps  at  a  place  called  Caustons,  near 
Hadlow.  His  father  sent  him  to  school — by  no  means  a  usual  experience 
for  lads  in  the  fifteenth  century — for  which  in  his  after-age  he  was  deeply 
grateful.  He  was  apprenticed  at  the  age  of  twelve  or  fourteen  to  a 
wealthy  mercer,  a  fact  which,  at  a  time  when  class  prejudices  were  very 
strong,  shows  that  his  family  were  connected  with  the  merchant  princes 
of  London.  After  a  few  years  his  master,  Robert  Large,  died,  and  as 
Caxton's  name,  when  he  issued  from  his  apprenticeship,  does  not 
appear  in  the  Mercers'  books,  there  is  little  doubt  that  he  went  abroad. 
In  1446  we  find  his  name  mentioned  in  the  town  records  preserved  at 
Bruges,  where  he  was  considered  sufficient  security  for  a  sum  equal  to 
£1  io.  In  1453  he  paid  a  visit  to  London,  and  took  up  his  livery  in  the 
Mercers'  Company.  Ten  years  later  he  had  raised  himself  to  the  highest 
honour  an  English  merchant  could  attain  abroad — that  of  Governor  of 
the  Merchant  Adventurers  in  the  Low  Countries.  Here  he  had  great 
responsibilities,  and  was  consulted  and  employed  by  the  English 
Government  in  various  matters  connected  with  trade  in  those  parts. 
In  1468  the  Princess  Margaret,  sister  of  our  Edward  IV,  was  married 
to  Charles  the  Bold,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  at  Bruges.  Here  Caxton 
would  be  brought  into  friendly  intercourse  with  the  nobles  of  the 
English  Court,  many  of  whom  took  refuge  there  when  King  Edward, 
in  1470,  was  driven  from  his  kingdom.  Several  treaties  about  trade 
between   England  and  the  Burgundian  dominions  were  ratified  about 


C>  commence  fe  6u#  tefr^ar  te- 

fo  wutuemcc  town* 

jfawft*  <ft>]&&toft&ti 

foible  to  tfpMfft  m  j*nw  tenwnftmq 
a  fa  figwifiMiatetow  Gemnte  tmft 
p  Wffrttttf  y\f  Cttfwnwft  fur  ft*  *v£ 
ytmsttfr^uv  font  tm&ttfdjim&i 
ctvntywmtilMnmwauFtuuw/ 

mftctnmt  touwvt  fowvctt  pitmfc 

tttywffiwft  <Sf  fifc  dM4tfhMpavfm/ 
&(u&  toiumt  aiwv  ftwwutfuty  #f 
jtttwr  fwrft  nimu  pmpft  drnvUct 
te  ftutt  *\m  •  cfajntm  i%ejnctmw 
fr  ftjuift  JH(J  annmwt  (?  (fymVUw^ 

MANUSCRIPT,    WRITTEN    AT    BRUGES,   CIRC.    I472. 


Exodus.  3  5 

this  time,  in  which  Caxton  took  a  leading  part.  In  Bruges  at  this 
period  there  were  magnificent  libraries,  consisting  almost  entirely  of 
illuminated  manuscripts  ;  and  no  doubt  a  few  books  from  the  German 
presses,  which  we  know  were  selling  at  Paris,  were  to  be  had  at  Bruges 
also.  In  these  literary  treasure-houses  Caxton  would  be  able  to  indulge 
that  taste  for  books  which  was  a  prominent  feature  in  his  character. 
He  became  known  to  the  Duchess,  and  from  some  cause  which  at 
present  has  not  been  discovered,  resigned  his  post  of  Governor,  and 
entered  into  her  service.  Whatever  were  the  duties  he  undertook  for 
the  Duchess,  his  position  was  one  of  honour  and  trust,  requiring  his 
personal  attendance  upon  her.  Two  causes  may  have  influenced 
Caxton  in  retiring  from  his  post  of  Governor.  Reckoning  from  a 
lawsuit  in  which  his  married  daughter  was  engaged  in  1496,  she  would 
then  have  been  twenty-six  years  of  age,  had  her  father  married  in  1469. 
As  a  married  man  he  could  not  be  a  merchant  in  a  foreign  city, 
foreigners  abroad  as  well  as  in  England  living  a  monastic  life.  Thus 
marriage  may  have  been  the  moving  cause.  Added  to  this,  the  duties 
of  Governor  compelled  him  to  make  frequent  journeys  to  other  cities, 
and  the  occupation  of  so  arduous  a  post  for  many  years  would  naturally 
make  him  wish  for  relief  and  quietude. 

Whatever  the  cause,  his  retirement  gave  him  leisure  to  indulge  his 
literary  tastes,  and  he  set  to  work  to  translate  into  English  a  French 
novel,  which  was  then  (1469)  much  admired  in  the  Burgundian  Court.  It 
was  a  medley  of  Roman  mythology  mixed  with  Gothic  knight-errantry 
and  love  adventures.  Its  title  was  "  The  Recuyell  (collection)  of  the 
Histories  of  Troy,"  and  the  fact  that  it  held  its  place  in  the  popular 
esteem  for  at  least  two  centuries  later,  shows  us  that  it  stood  high  in 
public  opinion.  After  translating  a  few  sheets,  Caxton  put  it  on  one 
side,  but  "on  a  time,"  when  conversing  with  the  Duchess,  he  showed 
his  attempt  to  her.  This  was  in  1469.  She  commanded  him  at  once 
to  finish  the  translation,  which  he  appears  to  have  taken  two  years  to 

F     2 


36 


The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


accomplish,  continuing  it,  as  he  himself  tells  us,  in  Ghent,  and  finishing 
it  at  Cologne.      And  here  it  is  important  to  notice  that  in  both  those 


supposed  portrait  of  caxton.     (From  Lewis 


cities  there  is  no  question  of  his  learning  printing.     All  he  mentions 
about    himself  refers    to    the    translation    alone.       This    brings    us   to 


Exodus.  3  7 

1472-3.  The  new  book,  patronised  by  the  Duchess  and  the  Court, 
was  soon  in  greater  demand  among  the  courtiers  than  Caxton  could 
possibly  supply  by  manuscript.  He  was  tired  of  so  much  writing,  and 
naturally  his  mind  turned  to  the  new  Art  of  Printing,  specimens  oi 
which  he  had  probably  examined.      Just  at  this  time  Colard  Mansion,  a 

~$)at)  t£)epof  ifcteixfyibtfyvbttfyt  tefolunon  of 

fatume  t§ep  oxuvc  &xt(p  aBaJYfyb? .  ffoz  tyiy 

finctue  Tb  «£P  ifyat  faiurnc  to$<  tfyie  maitv  jjtcf 

Ip  to  §ie  fctrft ,  attb?  ifyat  fjz  itoae  a  isvt^Blk  matj  to  of/ 

(tnte.  2inb2  fo  t^«p  6ne*lK  ityat  a&ronjdffuCIp  fy  -XJopb 

tofye  CbzbfBtp  Bp  fji*  yroVotflft  *  variance i S^Atx? 
t^crimtttfjafcx&cntrtjfoan  ot^crftpntfchonj  &<nu/e 
tf)cp  OfcoCoj  not  &  Ofcri^  t§«  fnber  ap«n(?  t§«  fon«  no.' 
Itoittfttyifont  apen/ftfj*  fubec/Bw^cr  it>40  nomaij 
t£)af  bur(?c fie  fo  fctbp  to  wpBc  ncjap)  fafurnc  n«r  fat* 
t§at  Op  bifcc  cu^ff/fcu  tf)«p  bwbo?  moic  §i<5  ptc  t^an  fo 
offatix  faffyce .  Ob#it  ($aff  ^  faV *  flffeL'  *9C  comanbe^ 
mint  of  fatuvnt/tcfymat)  smt^btsXtu  %tn  vnto  §te 
#>utf  fuff  of  cftcfe  *wty  Bttfcr  fozolfce  tt;  $#te.  %nty  tf)cc 
Itta*  not  ooi)  mat)  Butffc  ^ab2  §10  fbcc  c^ar^ti?  atntf^ 
£vcfe  £rt<f  anb? p«faunt  anoyance  %tf ::. 

FROM  "THE  RECUYEI.L  OF  THE  HISTORIES  OK  TROYE,"  I474.      (CaxtOll's   Type.  No.  I.) 

citizen  of  Bruges,  had  erected  a  printing-press  in  a  large  room  over 
the  church  porch  of  St.  Donatus,  and  to  him  went  Caxton.  Colard 
Mansion  set  to  work,  Caxton  helping  him  with  money,  and  learning 
at  the  same  time  the  new  art  and  mystery.  So  it  was  that  about 
1474-5  the  book  was  completed  and  a  copy  presented  to  the  Duchess. 


38  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

This  was  the  turning  point  in  Caxton's  career  ;  for  although  he 
did  not  immediately  leave  his  Royal  mistress's  service,  he  spent  some 
time  in  mastering  the  new  art,  and  then,  with  a  quantity  of  newly-cast 
types,  made  his  way  to  England.  There  seems  to  have  been  no  special 
reason  why  Caxton  should  choose  Westminster  as  the  locality  of  his 
printing-office.  There  was  no  Scriptorium  in  the  Abbey,  and  the 
Abbot  does  not  seem  to  have  held  towards  him  any  other  relationship 
than  that  of  landlord,  leasing  to  him  a  tenement  in  the  Almonry,  just 
where  the  Guards'  Memorial  now  stands.  Here  Caxton  settled  down 
and  worked  for  at  least  fifteen  years.  His  first  book  which  bears  a 
date  is  "The  Dictes  and  Sayinges  of  the  Philosophers,"  finished  in 
November,  1477.  Upon  the  strength  of  this  date  the  Caxton  Ouar- 
centenary  Festival  was  held  in  1877;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
he  printed  many  books  of  which  no  copies  remain,  some  of  which  were 
doubtless  earlier  than  the  "  Dictes." 

Unlike  some  of  the  French  and  Italian  printers  who  ruined  them- 
selves by  printing  classical  books,  Caxton  began  with  small  pamphlets, 
and  short  pieces  of  poetry  by  Lydgate  and  Chaucer.  These  were  soon 
followed  by  books  of  greater  pretence,  historical,  poetical,  and  religious. 
The  most  imposing  book  from  Caxton's  press  was  "  The  Golden 
Legend,"  a  thick  and  large  folio  volume,  full  of  rude  woodcuts,  and 
narrating  the  lives  of  all  the  Saints  in  the  English  calendar.  In  trans- 
lating, editing,  and  printing,  Caxton  spent  the  remaining  years  of  his 
life,  and  at  a  ripe  old  age  was  buried  in  St.  Margaret's,  Westminster, 
in  the  year  149 1. 

His  character  was  that  of  a  pious,  diligent,  and  educated  man, 
who,  without  aiming  very  high,  led  the  life  of  an  honest  and  useful 
merchant.  He  never  foresaw,  any  more  than  his  contemporaries,  the 
wonderful  capabilities  and  future  strength  of  that  printing-press  which 
was  to  bring  so  many  blessings  to  his  native  country.      His  successor 


X 

o 


w 


D 

Pi 

w 


a! 
D 
H 

J 

< 
H 

w 


w 


40  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

was  Wynken  de  Worde,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Stationers' 
Company,  a  workman  who,  while  quite  young,  came  over  with  Caxton, 
and  was  a  prolific  printer  for  years  after  his  master's  death.  The 
well-known  printers,  Pynson  and  Machlinia,  had  also  worked  under 
Caxton. 

The  city  of  Oxford  was  the  next  after  Westminster  in  which 
the  printing-press  was  erected  in  England.  The  first  book  printed 
there,  the  "  Exposicio  sancti  Hieronymi,"  is,  indeed,  dated  1468,  but 
it  is  not  worth  while  producing  the  reasons  which  have  led  all 
modern  bibliographers  to  agree  that  an  "x"  has  been  omitted  in  the 
date,  and  that  the  real  year  was  1478.  Rood  and  Hunte,  who  were 
the  first  Oxford  printers,  were  Germans,  and  their  books  are  very 
different  from  those  of  the  Bruges  and  Westminster  presses. 

Cambridge,  the  sister  University,  had  no  press  until  152 1,  when 
John  Siberch  printed  there. 

The  only  other  press  in  England  to  be  noticed  in  the  fifteenth 
century  is  that  of  St.  Albans,  where  a  schoolmaster  turned  typo- 
grapher in  1480,  and  printed  for  a  few  years.  His  most  noted  work 
was  "The  Boke  of  Hawking  and  Huntyng,  and  Cote  armor." 

Considering  the  close  connection  of  Scotland  with  France,  it 
is  rather  surprising  that  printing  did  not  reach  that  country  earlier 
than  1504.      In  that  year  Androw  Millar  began  to  print  some  ballads. 

Ireland  did  not  receive  printing  until  the  year  1 55 1 ,  when 
Humphrey  Powell  printed  a  prayer  book. 


In  the  New  World  the  first  City  to  receive  a  Printing-press 
was  Mexico,  where  Cromberger  worked  in  1540.  In  the  North, 
Stephen  Daye  erected  a  Press  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  in  1638. 


Exodus. 


4' 


The  Latin  names  of  towns  are  frequently  seen  on  the  title-pages 
of  early  books  ;  and  as  these  are  extremely  puzzling  to  young  biblio- 
graphers, the  following  short  list  of  those  most  likely  to  be  met  with 
may  be  found  useful : — 


Alta  Villa       

Etville 

Amstelaedamum 

Amsterdam 

Antverpia 

Antwerp 

Argentina         \ 
Argentoratum  1 

Strasburg 

Athense  Rauracse 

Basle 

Augusta  Vindelicorum 

Augsburg 

Bononia 

Bologna 

Brixia 

Breschia 

Bruxellaa 

Brussels 

Cantabrigia    ... 

Cambridge 

Colonia  Agrippina    ... 

Cologne 

Daventria 

Deventer 

Delphi            

Delft 

Duacum 

Douay 

Eblana 

Dublin 

Erfordia 

Erfuhrt 

Florentia   j 
Firenze       i 

Florence 

Francofurtum 

Frankfort 

Gandavuni  j 
Gand            )  " 

Ghent 

Hafnia 

Copenhagen 

Haga  Comitum 

The  Hague 

Hispalis 

Seville 

Holmia 

Stockholm 

Leida  ... 

Leyden 

Lipsia... 

Leipzig 

Lovanium 

Louvain 

Lugdunum 

Lyons 

Lugdunum  Batavorum.. 

I  >eyden 

Lutetia 

Paris 

Mediolanum     ... 

Milan 

Moguntia 

Mayence 

Moscua 

Moscow 

Nannetes 

Nantes 

Neapolis 

Naples 

Norimberga 

Nuremberg 

Oxonia 

Oxford 

Patavium 

Padua 

Rostochium 

Rostock 

Roterodamum 

Rotterdam 

Rothomagum   ... 

Rouen 

Sublacense  Monasterium 

Subiaco 

Taurinum 

Turin 

Toletum 

Toledo 

Trajectum  ad  Rhenum  .. 

Utrecht 

Treviri 

Treves 

Tridentum 

Trent 

Turones 

Tours 

Venetian 

Venice 

Vlma 

Ulm 

Vlyssipo 

Lisbon 

Vratislavia 

Breslau 

The  cities  and  towns  the  names  of  which  are  the  same,  or 
nearly  the  same,  in  the  Latin  and  native  spelling  have  been  omitted 
purposely. 


TYPO  J&lGRAPH 
!A 


LEVITICUS 


•  Here  order  in  variety  we  see, 
*A)id  here,  though  all  things  differ,  all  agree.' 

Pope. 


g   2 


j^fctflftl^afcl^eA^fcl^tet^felgJ^Bid^ffl&faBifl&faBfaEjgatodtflfetofetofclafetflBtefaelg 


m0L  t 


U>*l*'l*'l*-l*--l*->l>'-lJ'l*''[^W-.'<^t-!'^iJ.^iJ-i*-i^~,.IJ'l^ 


LEVITICUS. 


^ 

3^A    ' 

1 

i0«HM 

| 

;  1 

Hi 

! 

ft 

I  p|      'mas 

' 

^* 

H  "i  fvV- 

_& 

f 

1   r" 

^s 

~  -  . 

. 

•1 

^-p 


HE    Laws     of    Printing,    that    is,    the 
rules  by  which  artisans  in  the  various 
branches    of   this  Art   do   their    work, 
are  the  theme  of  this  chapter. 

In  the  first  place,  the  laws  by  which  the 
Typefounder  is  governed  in  making  good  and 
true  types,  are  explained.  Then,  the  laws  by 
knowledge  of  which  the  Compositor  combines 
those  types  ready  for  printing.  And  lastly, 
the  rules  by  which  the  Pressman  is  guided  in 
obtaining  impressions  from  the  types. 

From  the  extensive  scope  of  this  chapter 
it  will  be  seen  at  once  that  it  is  only  possible  to  describe  the  bare 
principles  of  each  section,  without  attempting  explanatory  details. 

THE     TYPEFOUNDER. 

Of  the  processes  by  which  the  first  printers  made  their  types  very 
little  is  known.  In  none  of  the  early  colophons*  is  any  allusion  made 
to  them ;  we  are  therefore  confined  to  the  internal  evidence  of  manu- 
facture discoverable  in  the  types  themselves. 

*  Bibliographers  call  the  final  sentence,  which  in  many  old  books  contains  the  printer's  name, 
place,  and  date,  the  "colophon."  It  answered  to  the  modern  imprint,  but  was  more  full,  and  frequently 
contained  important  information. 


46  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

The  page  of  any  early  book  shows  a  number  of  lines  of  type,  all 
of  them  running  from  left  to  right  beneath  each  other  in  straight  lines. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  following  diagram  that  each  stamp  stands 
on  its  own  particular  piece  of  metal,  and  the  fact  here  to  be  noted  is 


3n 
1b|e 

Ea 

tib|e|  |bie|G|t|n|nii|n!Q| 
aiv|e|ni»i  |ainib|  |tjb|Ci 

|(B|o!M  |c|r|c|a|tie^|  |f|b|e 
"  £.a|r[t|b|;i  iainiM  itlbic 

ntjbl  jwiajsi  jw|i|t|b|oiu;ti  |t]o(rim|  |a 

n|b|  |v|oli|&|. 

the  exact  regularity  of  all  the  letters:  for  although  a  capital  "E"  seems 
to  the  eye  much  taller  than  a  small  letter  "a,"  it  will  be  at  once  seen  by 
looking  at  the  illustration,  that  in  one  direction,  viz.,  from  top  to  bottom, 
these  and  all  the  other  letters  are  identical  as  to  size.  Each  of  the 
divisions  here  marked  shows  the  size  of  the  shank  upon  which  every 
separate  letter  is  cast,  measuring  this  way  |  ,  and  that  measurement, 
which  by  printers  is  called  the  "body,"  must  be  identical  for  each  and 
every  letter,  or  else  unevenness  would  be  the  result. 

In  the  following  specimen,  a  single  letter  in  each  line  is  made 
slightly  larger  in  body  than  its  fellows,  the  uneven  effect  being  very 
apparent. 

3n  tbc  beginning  <Soe>  create^  tbc 
1focavcns  anb  t,)c  JSartb;  anb  tbc 
j£artb  was  without  term  anj>  t>oib'. 

To  obtain  exact  regularity  was  the  great  difficulty  of  the  early 
printers.  Letters  of  wood  soon  became  unmanageable  from  warping 
or  shrinkage,  being  affected  even  by  change  of  weather.  No  doubt 
the  experiment  was  made  of  cutting  a  quantity  ol  letters  upon  metal 
shanks,  suited  to  their  width. 

Concerning  the  Mayence  Psalter  of  1454,  the  first  printed  book 
with  a  plain  date,  we  find  opinions,  even  of  experts,  very  various 
and    contradictory.        Some    writers,    devoid    of    practical     knowledge, 


Leviticus.  47 


declare  all  the  letters  to  be  separately  cut  in  wood  ;  others,  whose 
opinions  deserve  respect,  imagine  the  types  to  have  been  (as  already- 
suggested)  cut  separately,  each  on  a  cube  of  metal.  Others,  again, 
while  admitting  that  these  early  types  were  cast  in  metal,  consider 
that  the  original  punches,  or  models,  may  have  been  cut  in  wood,  and 
that  matrices  were  produced  by  dabbing  these  into  metal  while  in  a 
semi-congealed  state. 

No  writers  in  the  infancy  of  printing  deign  to  notice  typetounding, 
although  in  1508  we  meet  with  the  representation  of  a  typefounder 
at  work,  which,  however,  is  far  too  rude  to  teach  us  anything. 
Whichever  way  we  turn,  perplexity  accompanies  us,  and  the  wisest 
course,  perhaps,  is  to  acknowledge  that  in  reality  we  know  very  little 
about  the  methods  of  the  first  typefounders. 

By  careful  examination  of  the  types  themselves,  however,  a 
few  facts  are  ascertained,  which,  without  revealing  method,  are  full 
of  significance.  For  instance,  Colard  Mansion,  of  Bruges,  began  to 
print  with  a  fine,  bold  letter,  called  "  batarde,"  shaped  like  that  known 
in  England  as  "German  text."  But  when  his  first  fount  was  worn 
he  made  another,  every  letter  of  which  is  slightly  thinner  in  face  than 
that  used  in  the  first  printing,  owing  evidently  to  the  fact  that  a 
single  type  of  each  sort  had  been  chosen  out,  and,  after  being  trimmed 
carefully  by  a  graving  tool,  had  been  used  as  a  punch  to  form  a  matrix 
of  some  sort  for  the  second  fount.  The  same  thing  exactly  appears 
in  the  second  casting  of  Caxton's  No.  2  Type  ;  and  here,  in  many 
instances,  the  matrix  has  actually  reproduced  some  slight  slips  made  by 
the  graver  in  trimming  his  pattern  letters.  These  facts  are  interesting, 
and  as  yet  indications  of  no  similar  process  have  been  observed  among 
the  German  printers.  But  we  are  as  far  off  as  ever  from  the  knowledge 
of  how  the  types  were  cast.  From  what  has  been  said  it  is  evident 
that  the  early  printers  had  some  method  of  casting  types  from  a  mould 


48  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

which  was  adjustable  as  to  width  ;  so  that  while  the  same  mould 
would  cast  a  letter  as  thick  as  an  "  M,"  or  as  thin  as  an  "i,"  it 
would  make  the  "body"  of  each  letter  identical.  This  is  the  whole 
secret  of  typefounding ;  that  this  result  was  obtained  we  know,  but 
how,  we  know  not. 

While  in  all  probability  we  shall  never  know  for  certain  the 
processes  used  to  produce  the  earliest  types,  we  have  nevertheless  some 
few  data  from  which  we  may  learn  something.      Mr.  Madden  in    1875 

mfequentito:  fcdhutepatauttnticotyir  *ac 

jxJtiffitnurmBqniiliumtwciozemnoiat  \@" 
p?04tusmba  ftaftm  fequnnl\ccba  bt 
tfic«$ipfc  ornne^  vitctuu  teitcfcttigtpi  \ 
#Umvbte$  jffetmi|S^#owm  agioi* 

IMPRESSION  OF  A  TYPE  in'   1476.     (From  Madden.) 

gave  a  fac-simile  of  a  curious  accident  which  he  had  noticed  in  a  book 
printed  by  Conrad   Hamborch,  at  Cologne,  in   1476.     A  single  letter 

fiS gmntucnitlg&q'd jj&tbit  *l'"ue>ri>- :ut  :-iarn  scpirb?  b (c Cu 
pm  gracu  grrmis  r  QM*  "*  "  'p^.citinAjijii  tgmitafis 

<&ui&erg>ii:n:£qjr~   ,_- T   77^3    i*gsifci3pttie3ito?STi* 


11102  nSc  pbibiur.il 

n5pu"3oti8»<&iub  trnuv  ..* .~..  .3, capita*  que  tim£tq  timcrc 
omnia.  <$hin  a:nct  tui  iutep  ctatifa'afTetcpe  rntpgtitse'tcftis  in* 
nocicia  -     tyc  ergo  dmcaa  marianec  miteua  c;6  angel? at  tew 

IMPRESSION    01    A   TYPE,   CIRC.    1470,   DISCOVERED   UY   BRADSHAW, 

(From  Reed's  "Old  English  tetter  Foundries.") 

had  by  some  means  been  left  lying  sideways  on  the  face  of  a  page  of 
type,  and  when  the  sheet  of  paper  was  pulled,  an  extensive  "batter" 
took  place  by  the  truant  letter  being  squeezed  into  the  face  of  the  type, 


Leviticus. 


-\<> 


01 

>er 


the  whole  shape  of  the  shank  showing  very  accurately  in  the  impression. 
Curiously  enough,  an  identical  occurrence  was  noticed  about  the  same 
time  by  Mr.  Bradshaw,  in  another  early  printed  German  book 
about  the  same  date.  Again,  M.  Claudinof  Paris  possesses  a  mini 
of  actual  15th  century  types,  which  were  found  during  a  very  dry 
summer  in  the  bed  of  the  Saone,  opposite  to  where  an  old  Printing 
office  is  known  to  have  existed. 

We  give  fac-simile  representations  of  these  three  instances,  and 
from  them  draw  several  conclusions. 

1.  We  see  that  there  was  no  standard  height  for  the  types.  In 
the  types  of  M.  Claudin  hardly  any  two  agree,  nor  do  the  types  of 
the  two  German  books.      It  would  be  a  necessity  that  the  types  of  one 


U-J       1 — 1 


A 


VJ 


PROFILE    ['RACINGS  FROM   M.  CLAUDIN'S  TYPES.      OCTOBER,    1SS3. 
(From  /feed's  "Old English  Letter  Foundries.") 

fount  should  all  be  of  one  height,  and  if  no  other  founts  were  used  for 
the  work  there  would  be  no  difficulty.  This  indeed  seems  the  reason 
why,  in  the  earliest  books,  we  find  little  or  no  mixture  of  types. 

2.  We  see  that  none  of  the  types  have  any  feet,  and  that  there- 
fore the  "mould"  as  invented  shortly  after  was  then  unknown.  The 
great  improvement  by  which,  in  a  sliding  mould,  every  letter  must  be 
of  the  same  height  has  often  been  attributed  to  Schceffer — an  improve- 
ment of  which  he  now  appears  to  have  been  utterly  ignorant.  Unless 
every  separate  letter  is  made  exactly  the  same  height,  the  result  would 
be  that  some  would  be  battered  because  they  stood  too  high,  while 
others  would  not  print  at  all,  because  they  stood  too  low.    To  obtain  an 


50  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


even  measure  for  all,  the  mould  was  made  to  give  the  height  in  a  very 
ingenious  manner.  The  diagram  shows  a  type  as  it  appears  when 
thrown  from  the  mould,  a  is  the  top  containing  the  letter  which 
prints  in  relief;  bb  are  the  "feet"  of  the  type,  and  c  is  the 
superfluous  metal.  Now  when  the  piece  c  is  broken  off,  it  will 
leave  b  b  untouched  ;  these  are  the  feet  upon  which  the  perfect 
type  will  stand. 

To  look  at  a  type  it  does  not  at  first  strike  one  as  so  very 
difficult  to  make,  and  yet  a  good  punch  cutter  must  be  a  born 
artist,  and  a  good  mould-maker  a  model  of  skilfulness.  Without 
attempting  to  describe  the  modern  improvements  in  casting  type  by 
machinery,  whereby  the  molten  lead  is  pumped  up  into  the  moulds,  and 
types  ready  for  use  come  streaming  out  by  thousands,  we  will  try  to 
explain  the  method  used  in  1689  by  Moxon,  who  was  the  first  English 
writer  to  describe  the  process  with  any  exactitude.  The  same  methods 
have  been  in  all  probability  used  by  Caxton's  successors  in  the  sixteenth, 
seventeenth,  and  eighteenth  centuries,  and  are  still  resorted  to  now 
when  any  letters  have  to  be  cast  by  hand. 

The  four  principal  requisites  in  a  type  foundry  are:   1.  The  Punch. 
2.   The  Matrix.      3.   The  Mould.      4.   Good  Type-metal. 

1.  The  Punch.  The  punch-cutter,  with  the  help  of  several  tools, 
engraves  each  letter  upon  the  end  of  a  short  piece  of  steel. 
Upon  the  beauty,  congruity,  and  accuracy  of  this  operation 
depends  the  success  of  the  type.  The  art  of  engraving, 
reverse-way,  a  series  of  punches,  all  varying  in  shape,  and  yet 
all  agreeing  in  the  thickness  and  curves  of  the  various  down 
and  up  strokes — called  by  the  Dutch  "  fats  "  and  "leans" — is 
very  difficult,  and  when  successfully  accomplished,  the  engraver  a  punch 
may  truly  lay  claim  to  that  greatly  misused  word  "artist."  If  in  the 
humour,  he  can  cut  two  single  or  one  double  letter  per  diem. 


Leviticus.  5 1 

2.  The  Matrix.  The  steel  punch  being  engraved  and  hardened, 
it  is  held  face  downwards  upon  a  small  cube  of  copper,  and 
then  with  a  steady,  an  even,  and  a  strong  blow  from  a 
mallet,  the  punch  is  driven  some  distance  into  the  softer 
metal,  leaving  a  sunken  impression.  This,  after  due  trim- 
ming and  adjusting — called  "justifying," — is  a  matrix  ready 
for  use  in  the  mould.  A  MATRIX- 

3.  The  Mould  is  a  complicated  instrument  made  in  two  distinct 
halves,  which  fit  accurately,  or  rather  lock  into  each  other,  leaving  an 
opening  between,  into  which  the  melted  type-metal  is  poured.  The 
matrix  which  only  gives  the  "face"  to  a  type,  is  kept  close  to  the 
bottom  of  this  cavity  in  the  mould  by  a  spring.  The  mould,  which  is 
imbedded  in  wood  to  prevent  the  heat  reaching  the  workman's  hand,  is 
held  in  the  left  hand.  A  small  ladleful  of  melted  metal  is  then  poured 
in,  the  workman  at  the  same  time  giving  his  hand  a  jerk  upwards,  a 
movement  which  drives  the  metal  into  the  finest  parts  of  the  matrix. 
The  workman  then  slides  the  mould  open,  and  the  type  falls  out,  only 
requiring  the  superfluous  metal  to  be  broken  off,  and  the  burr  on  the 
edges  rubbed  down,  to  become  fit  for  use.  About  5,000  types  can  be 
cast  in  this  manner  per  day  by  a  skilful  workman. 

4.  The  Metal  of  which  type  is  made  consists  of  Lead,  Tin,  and 
Antimony,  in  various  proportions.  The  alloy,  however,  varies  consider- 
ably in  different  foundries.  We  will  only  mention  in  conclusion  that  the 
Antimony  is  used  not  so  much  for  the  hardness  it  imparts  to  the  alloy, 
as  for  the  anomaly,  which  belongs  also  to  freezing  water,  that  it 
expands  in  the  act  of  solidifying. 

THE    COMPOSITOR. 

The  work  of  a  Compositor  in  the  fifteenth  century  did  not  differ 
in  any  essential  particular  from  that  performed  at  present.  He  received 
the  types  from  the  founder,  placed  each  sort  in  its  own  assigned  place 

h  2 


52 


The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


in  the  "case,"  ready  for  use,  and  within  easy  reach.  The  "case"  was 
an  arrangement  of  small  wooden  boxes  placed  on  the  slant  tor  con- 
venience of  reaching,  each  box  being  appropriated  to  its  own  letter. 
Standing  in   front  of  the  case,  the  compositor  held  in  his  left  hand  a 


A 

B 

C 

D 

E 

F 

G 

A 

B 

c 

D 

E 

F 

G 

H 

I 

K 

L 

M 

N 

0 

H 

I 

K 

L 

M 

N 

0 

P 

Q 

"R 

S 

T 

V 

W 

p 

Q 

R 

s 

T 

V 

w 

X 

Y 

Z 

M 

(E 

u 

J 

X 

Y 

Z 

& 

CE 

u 

J 

1 

2 

8 

4 

5 

6 

7 

a 

e 

i 

6 

U 

§ 

t 

8 

9 

0 

£ 

9 

CS* 

a 

e 

i 

0 

tl 

li 

t 

a 

e 

i 

0 

u 

k 

a 

e 

i 

0 

u 

If 

[ 

H' 

.(£' 

( 

J 

e 

Thm  and 
MddJp  space 

! 

9 

; 

1 

tl 

& 

b 

C 

d 

1 

& 

f 

g 

1 

1 

ff 

ft] 

n 

fi 

ffi 

1 

m 

n 

h 

0 

y 

P 

- 

w 

5 

Han 
^pace 

Z 

V 

Thick 
ypace 

a 

(i 

X 

1 

i 

*^ua 

1mts. 

Till'      MAY       OF    A    PAIR    OK   TYPE   ("ASKS. 


wooden  "composing-stick,"  in  which  a  rectangular  trench  had  been  cut 
to  receive  the  letters.  Reading  and  keeping  in  his  mind  a  few  words  ol 
his  manuscript,  he  picked  up  the  types  letter  by  letter  and  placed  them 
side  by  side  until  first  words,  and  then  sentences,  were  composed. 
When  the  end  of  a  line  was  reached,  and  there:  was  no  room  for  more 


Leviticus. 


3  j 


words  and   yet  some  space  left,  the  compositor  by  placing  a  little  extra 
space  between  the  words  made  the  line  fill  out  the  stick.      This  was 


OLD  IKON 

COMPOSING 

STICK. 


A    FIFTEENTH    CENTURY    WOODEN    COMPOSING    STICK. 


called  "justifying  "  the  line.  Each  line  was  lifted  out  of  the  stick  and 
placed  on  a  wooden  board  ;  thus  line  after  line  was  added  until  there 
were  enough  for  a  page. 


■J'llliBMI 


illH3iIHII.imiBJiftllfflll.HI 


ImiiailiriBiiiiiiilBii 


\    I  INE    OF    COMPOSED    'I  Yl'h. 


When  two  or  four  pages  were  ready,  they  were  placed  upon  a 
flat  surface  within  an  iron  frame  called  a  "chase,"  the  proper  distance 
between  each  page  being  regulated  by  small  blocks  of  wood  suited  to 
the  size  of  the  paper  on  which  they  were  to  be  printed.  The  pages 
being  properly  arranged,  were  all  bound  together  tightly  by  means  of 
screws,  or  by  small  wedges  of  wood  called   "quoins."     When  all  was 


54 


The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


secure,  the  whole,  now  styled  a  "  form,"  was  lifted  up  in  one  piece,  and 
taken  to  the  press,  where  a  first  proof  was  pulled  for  the  "  Reader." 
The  necessary  corrections  having  been  made  by  the  Compositor,  the 
"form  "  was  ready  for  the  Pressman. 

THE    PRESSMAN. 
The  first  printers  had   but   small   presses  made  entirely  of  wood. 
Their  power  was  also  slight,  and  they  printed,  as  a  rule,  but  one  page 

at  a  time.  The  screw  was  of  wood, 
and  worked  by  a  "bar,"  much  the 
same  as  a  modern  napkin  press. 
The  chief  thing  was  to  obtain  an 
even  surface  on  the  "bed"  upon 
which  the  page  of  type  rested  ; 
and,  secondly,  an  even  surface  for 
the  "platen,"  which  was  lowered  as 
the  "bar"  turned  the  "screw,"  and 
thus  pressed  the  paper  upon  the 
face  of  the  type.  The  evenness  of 
impression,  as  well  as  of  colour,  in 
many  old  books,  shows  that  this 
object  was  accomplished  with  great 
success,  and  proves  what  good 
mechanicians  they  were  four  hun- 


01. 1)    WOODEN    PRESS 

igc 


iSoS. 


dred  years  ago.     It  is  a  task  which   we  could  not  now  accomplish  so 
successfully  were  our  modern  tools  and  appliances  withdrawn. 

The  ink  was  doubtless  a  sore  trial  to  the  early  fathers  of  the 
press.  It  was  only  by  long  experience  upon  block-books  and  wood 
engravings  that  the  working  together  of  boiled  oil  and  lampblack 
was  found  to  give  that  consistency  which  would  be  stilt  enough  not 
to  spue  over  the  sides  ot  the  letters  when  pressed,  and  yet  not  SO 
thin  as  to  run  away  into  unevenness  of  surface  or  want  ol   colour. 


Leviticus. 


55 


There  were  nearly  always  two  workmen  to  one  press.  One  "beat" 
the  "form,"  that  is,  he  dabbed  two  big,  soft  balls  covered  with  ink  over 
all  the  type;  the  other  placed  the  white  paper  on  the  "tympan,"  and 
ran  the  whole,  by  means  of  a  winch,  beneath  the  "platen,"  and  then 
made  a  strong  pull  at  the  bar. 

Modern  pressmen  know  nothing  of  the  skill  and  experience 
requisite  in  olden  times  to  beat  a  "form"  properly.  First  the  balls, 
which  were  made  of  prepared  skins  padded  with  wool,  and  fastened  on 


INTERIOR  OF  A   17111  CENTURY   PRINTING  office.       (From  Mallinkrot.) 

to  a  "  stock,"  had  to  undergo  peculiar  treatment  requiring  both 
experience  and  sagacity.  Extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  of  dampness  and 
dryness,  called  out  all  the  resources  of  the  pressman  in  order  to  keep 
the  skins  of  his  balls  in  the  proper  state  to  receive  and  distribute  the 
ink  evenly.  The  distribution  was  effected  by  taking  a  small  portion 
of  the  ink  upon  one  ball  ;  then  began  a  series  of  twists  and  twirls, 
and  punching  of  the  balls  together,  worthy  of  an  acrobat,  until  the 
ink,  by  an  elaborate  manipulation  of  one  ball  against  the  other,  was 


56 


The   Pentateuch   of  Printing. 


evenly  spread  over  the  surface  of  the  "form."  Whilst  the  "man  at  the 
bar"  was  placing  the  sheet  of  paper  in  such  a  position  that  it  should 
be  printed  with  the  proper  amount  of  margin  all  round,  his  fellow  or 
"partner"  was  dabbing  the  ink  over  the  face  of  the  pages.  In  this 
he  had  to  be  very  careful  not  to  miss  any  part :  if  missed,  the  impression 
appeared  very  pale,  and  the  blunder  was  called  a  ''friar";  but  if  blotched 
with  too  much  ink,  and  the  face  of  the  type  filled  up,  it  was  a  "monk." 
This  race  of  antiquated  pressmen  is  now  almost  extinct.  One  of  the 
last  worked  in  jacket  and  hose  at  an  old  wooden  press  at  the  "  Caxton 

Celebration"  in   London,   in   1877, 
where  he  attracted  great  notice. 

As  a  matter  of  convenience 
many  of  the  early  printers  made 
their  pages  just  of  the  size  to  agree 
with  one  page  of  the  MS.  The  ad- 
vantage of  this  plan  was  that  they 
had  no  occasion  to  compose  straight 
on,  but  might  print  page  8  with 
page  1,  and  page  7  with  page  2, 
without  noticing  the  intermediate 
pages,  thus  getting  the  first  sheet 
[mproveh  wooden  press     1640.  of  a  quaternion  out  of  the  way. 

Signatures,  which  are  of  o-reat  use  to  the  binder,  were  letters 
and  figures  at  the  foot  of  certain  pages,  which  served  as  signs  to  show 
the  sequence  of  the  various  sheets.  They  are  by  no  means  peculiar  to 
printed  hooks,  nor  were  they,  as  some  writers  assume,  invented  by  the 
early  printers.  The  manuscript-writers  knew  their  use  long  before 
Gutenberg,  and  where  a  MS.  is  still  intact,  nothing  having  been  cut  off 
the  bottom  edges,  the  manuscript  signatures  may  often  be  recognised 
at  the  extreme  edge  of  the  sheet.  Sometimes  the  signature  was  put  in 
the  hack,  and  so,  when  bound,  became  invisible, 


Leviticus.  57 


Catchwords  were  the  first  word  from  the  top  of  a  page  repeated 
below  the  bottom  line  of  the  previous  page,  thus  assuring  the  correct- 
ness of  the  collation. 

After  a  time  the  pages,  especially  if  small,  were  arranged  so 
that  four  or  eight  might  be  printed  at  a  time.  A  sheet  of  quarto 
required  four  pages  on  one  side,  and  four  pages  on  the  other  side 
of  the  sheet.  Octavo  had  eight  pages  on  one  side  and  eight  pages 
on  the  other ;  and  these  had  so  to  be  placed  that  when  the  sheet 
was  folded  the  pages  came  in  proper  order. 

Some  of  the  earliest  books  were  issued  without  any  Title  page, 
in  this  respect  agreeing  with  MS.  books. 

The  omission  of  head  lines  to  the  pages  was  common  among  the 
first  Printers. 

The  numbering  of  pages  was  a  development  of  numbering  the 
leaves,  which  last  custom  is  also  a  peculiarity  of  early  printed  books  ; 
as  is  the  custom  of  manuscript  initials  at  the  beginning  of  Chapters. 

Thus  in  a  very  imperfect  manner  the  outlines  of  the  laws  upon 
which  the  old  printers  worked  have  been  given  ;  but  ten  minutes  in  a 
printing-office  would  explain  more  than  ten  chapters  of  ear-knowledge, 
and  there  is  no  difficulty  nowadays  in  obtaining  permission  to  see  any 
of  the  great  printing-offices. 


C«TEKBS*-6 


NUMBERS 


■  Who.  departing,  left  behind  them 
Footprints  on  the  sands  of  time." 

Longfellow. 


I    2 


NUMBERS 


IT  is  always  a  pleasant  task  to  any  one  who  realizes  the  magnitude 
of  the  debt  under  which  the  whole  world  lies  to  the  printing-press 
to  enumerate  the  many  great  and  noble  men  who  have  served 
God  and  their  country  as  printers.  The  biographical  difficulty  is  in 
the  selection,  for  every  country  has  its  typographical  roll  of  fame, 
upon  which  are  inscribed  numbers  of  names  of  heroes  of  the  Press, 
who,  instead  of  courting  fortune,  have  spent  laborious  and  self-denying 
lives  with  the  sole  object  of  diffusing  that  knowledge  by  which 
ignorance  is  dispelled,  and  man  raised  above  the  beast.  Such  names 
should  be  household  words.  An  account,  necessarily  brief,  of  a  few 
of  them  is  here  attempted. 


HOLLAND. 

1  believe  this  to  have  been  the  premier  country  in  typographical 
development.  Some  one  printed  those  old  Dutch  fragments  which 
carry  with  them  their  own  certificates  of  birth  ;  and  even  if  it  is 
difficult  to  prove  the  printer  to  have  been  Lourens  Jans/.oon  Coster, 
his  works  remain,  and  "  Costeriana "  is  a  well  understood  and  con- 
venient term   by  which  to  designate  them. 


I  Joannes    G-utemfoeio-  .        T  ,  •  f,  iv   Aldus    Matincius  . 

ji  Joainies   raultiii  .  v  Joannes  rroljcmus 


Number*.  63 

GERMANY. 

Of  the  celebrated  trio,  Gutenberg,  Fust  and  Schoeffer,  who 
invented  what  Fichet,  Rector  of  the  Sorbonne  (who  also  was  their  con- 
temporary), calls  "  a  new  sort  of  printing,"  Schceffer  alone  was  left 
after  1468.  Other  Germans  were  however  at  work  then  or  soon  after. 
Pfister  and  Sensenschmidt  were  printers  at  Bamberg;  Zainer  was 
hard  at  work  at  Augsburg;  Eggestein  and  Mentelin  at  Strasbourg; 
and  Vendelin  at  Spire.  These  are  well  known  names  ;  but  still  better 
known  is  that  prolific  typographer,  Ulkig  Zell,  of  Cologne,  whose 
workshops  seem  to  have  been  a  training  college  for  young  printers  all 
over  Europe,  and  whose  works  are  so  numerous  that  no  writer  has  yet 
mastered  their  bibliography.  So  little  cared  he  for  worldly  fame  that 
he  scarcely  ever  put  his  name  to  a  book  printed  by  him,  although  the 
individuality  of  his  types  and  the  "get  up"  of  his  works  announce 
their  parentage  as  plainly  as  if  certified  in  a  Colophon  "  Per  me  Ulric 
Zell."  Before  leaving  Cologne,  we  will  only  mention  P.  DE  Oli'E, 
Tiierhoernen  and  Koeliioff,  all  famous  printers.  After  the  first 
two  generations,  however,  Germany  pursued  the  new  art  in  a  sober 
manner,  no  name  appearing  of  surpassing  merit  until  the  middle  of 
the  sixteenth  century. 

"  Optime  meritus  "  was  the  description  attached  by  Rothscholtz  to 
the  portrait  of  Sigismund  Feyerabend  (1 527-1 587),  of  Frankfort-on- 
the-Maine.  A  learned  and  able  man,  with  threat  artistic  taste,  he 
employed  the  best  engravers  of  the  day  to  illustrate  his  books,  which 
became  famous  throughout  all  Europe,  and  are  now  held  in  great 
esteem  by  bibliographers. 

John  Petreijus,  of  Nuremberg  (1 497-1 550),  is  a  name  which 
should  not  pass  unrecorded.  He  was  an  excellent  typographer,  and 
especially  noted  for  the  correctness  with  which  he  printed  in  Greek 
and   Latin.      He  was  a  practical  printer  in  a  very   real   sense,  for   he 


64  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

made  his  own  presses,  cast  his  own  types,  and  manufactured  the  ink 
with  which  he  printed.  His  extensive  correspondence  shows  that  the 
most  celebrated  scholars  of  the  age  were  in  constant  communication 
with  him,  on  terms  of  close  friendship.  When  he  died  they  wrote,  as 
was  then  customary  among  Scholars,  many  classical  epitaphs  to  his 
memory. 

Ant.  Koburger,  too,  was  very  famous,  and  perhaps  the  most 
prolific  of  all  Germany's  fertile  printers.  He  worked  at  Nuremberg, 
where  he  kept  twenty-four  presses  employed.  All  his  books  are  of 
great  excellence,  and  he  is  specially  noted  for  his  Bibles,  of  which  he 
issued  twelve  editions. 

In  the  same  city  Albert  Durer  erected  a  press,  at  which  he 
printed  the  text  to  his  own  wonderful  engravings.  After  his  death  his 
widow  carried  on  the  business  for  some  years. 

In  modern  times  Germany  has  given  us  Emmanuel  Breitkopf, 
who,  about  1750,  improved  greatly  the  hand-press,  and  invented  a 
new  set  of  music  types  ;  while  H.  Brockiiaus,  at  Leipzig,  has  a 
European  renown  as  printer  and  typefounder. 

ITALY. 

In  this  country  the  printing-press  originated,  as  we  have  seen, 
with  Sweynheym  and  Pannartz,  first  at  Subiaco  and  then  at  Rome, 
who  from  1465  to  1474  issued  many  editions  of  the  Classics.  In 
addition  to  the  famous  names  already  recorded  when  noticing  the  intro- 
duction of  the  art  into  Italy,  Ulric  Haiin,  Philip  de  Lignamine, 
SlLBER,  Planck  and  RiESSlNGER,  noted  typographers  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  deserve  mention.  But  the  lustre  of  all  fades  before  the  fame 
of  the  celebrated  Alois  Pius  Manutius  Romanus.  This  great  printer 
was  born  at  Bassanio,  in  the  Roman  States,  in  1449.  He  studied  for 
many    years    in     Rome,    and     from    that     fact    assumed    the    name    of 


Numbers. 


65 


Romanus.      In  1482  he  lived  in  the  same  house  as  Picus  Mirandulus, 
and  afterwards  abode  with   Prince  Alberto   Pio,   who  allowed   him   to 


tl|l»ll||M 


AlDVSPIVSMANVTIVSR: 


rOKTRAIT    OK    ALDUS. 


adopt   the   name   "  Pius."      Being   strongly  impressed  with  the  poten- 
tialities  latent   in   the   printing-press,    he   determined,    about    1489,    to 


66  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

devote  his  whole  attention  to  the  publication  of  classical  literature. 
After  organising  in  Venice  the  most  complete  printing-office  hitherto 
seen,  he  began  his  typographical  career  by  the  issue  of  the  Greek 
Grammar  of  Lascaris.  This  was  in  1494.  In  the  prologue  to  that 
book  Aldus  declares  the  determination  of  himself  and  his  co-workers 
in  the  following  noble  words: — "We  have  determined  henceforth  to 
devote  all  our  lives  to  this  good  work.  I  call  God  to  witness  that  my 
sincere  desire  is  to  do  good  to  mankind,  as  indeed  I  hope  has  already 
been  shown  by  my  past  life.  I  will  indeed  labour  continuously  to 
make  constant  progress ;  for  although  we  might  have  chosen  a  tranquil 
country  life,  we  have  preferred  a  life  busy  and  full  of  hard  work.  A 
good  and  learned  man  will  not  give  himself  up  to  base  pleasures,  but 
to  work  and  to  do  something  worthy.  Cato  has  said  truly,  '  Man's  life 
may  be  compared  to  a  sword  ;  use  it  and  it  keeps  bright  ;  neglect  it 
and  rust  will  soon  be  its  destruction.'  Therefore  if  work  seem  some- 
times irksome  to  a  man,  let  him  be  sure  of  this — that  sloth  would  be 
much  more  detrimental  to  him  than  the  hardest  kind  of  labour." 

These  were  words  from  the  heart  of  Aldus,  and  in  this  conviction 
he  worked  until  his  death.  In  1501  he  established  an  academy  of 
learned  men  and  scholars.  Constantinople  had  just  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  Turks,  and  among  the  Christian  refugees  were  many 
scholars  of  fame  and  repute.  To  these  Aldus  offered  a  safe  and  quiet 
asylum,  asking  from  them  in  return  that  a  portion  of  their  time  should 
be  devoted  to  the  collation  of  manuscript  copies  of  the  classics,  which 
in  the  course  of  time  had  become  very  erroneous  through  the  careless- 
ness of  successive  copyists.  He  also  employed  them  in  reading  his 
printed  proofs  and  revising  them  for  the  press.  In  this  way  many 
good  scholars  lived  on  terms  of  great  friendship  with  Aldus,  and  were 
entirely  supported  by  him.  Surely  modern  lovers  of  literature  owe  an 
incalculable  debt  of  gratitude  to  Aldus  for  preserving  by  these  means 
an  accurate  text  of  the  great  classical  writers  of  antiquity. 


Numbers. 


67 


The  expense  of  this  great  undertaking  was  of  course  very  great ; 
and  partly  to  reduce  the  cost  of  production,  and  partly  to  place  copies 
of  the  books  he  printed  within  the  reach  of  poor  scholars,  Aldus 
employed  the  artist  Giovanni  de  Bologna  to  design  for  him  a  new  and 
compressed  type  which  would  enable  him  to  print  nearly  two  pages  in 
the  same  space  as  one.  From  the  country  of  its  birth  this  letter  has 
ever  since  been  known  as  Italic.  Its  elegant  shape  has  been  much, 
perhaps  too  much,  admired.  The  appearance  is  somewhat  marred  by 
the  invariable  use  of  Roman  capitals,  which,  throughout  a  page  of 
Italic,  is  certainly  not  agreeable  to  the  eye. 


THE    MEDAL  OF   ALDUS. 


The  fame  of  Aldus's  printing-office  soon  spread  throughout  Europe, 
and  his  little  pocket  editions  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics  were 
esteemed  as  much  for  the  beauty  of  their  dress  as  for  the  accuracy  of 
their  text.  The  visits  of  the  curious,  as  well  as  of  the  learned,  became 
at  last  so  troublesome  that  Aldus  placed  the  following  notice  over  the 
chief  entrance:  "Whoever  you  are  that  wish  to  see  Aldus,  be  brief; 
and  when  business  is  finished  go  away  ;  unless  indeed  you  are  able  and 
willing:  to  assist  him  as  Hercules  did  Atlas  in  his  need:  and  even  then 
remember  that  whoever  gains  here  a  footing  must  work  hard  and 
with  perseverance." 


68  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


Aldus  himself  took  no  relaxation ;  scarcely  would  he  afford  himself 
any  sleep  until  fatigue  compelled  him  to  rest.  He  died  in  15 15,  the 
King  of  Printers,  with  an  immortal  halo  surrounding  him. 

Aldus  adopted  for  his  device  an  anchor,  with  a  dolphin  twisted 
round  it.  This  emblem  is  justly  celebrated  in  the  annals  of  typography 
under  the  name  of  the  Aldine  anchor,  and  is  very  appropriate  to  the 
work  of  a  Printer.  The  dolphin  is  the  emblem  of  swiftness,  on  account 
of  the  rapidity  with  which  it  cleaves  the  waves.  The  anchor  is  the 
emblem  of  stability  and  reliance.  So  the  printer  should  be  speedy 
at  his  work,  but  consider  his  plans  carefully  and  soberly.  This  was 
admirably  summarised  in  the  motto  adopted  by  Aldus — "  Festina 
lente"  (Hasten  slowly).  On  a  rare  contemporary  medal  the  motto 
appears  in  Greek,   "  snEVAE   bpaaehs." 

Another  great  Italian  Printer  was  Giamhattista  Bodoni,  whose 
name  certainly  stands  next  to  that  of  Aldus.  He  was  the  son  of  a 
Piedmontese  printer,  and  was  born  in  1  740,  the  year  when  all  Europe 
celebrated  the  Jubilee  of  Printing.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  was 
working  as  a  compositor  at  the  Propaganda  Printing-office,  Rome, 
where  he  did  good  service  by  studying  hard  to  learn  the  Oriental 
languages,  and  then  restoring  to  a  proper  condition  for  use  the  fine 
collection  of  Oriental  types  in  that  office,  which  had  long  been  in  a 
state  of  confusion.  It  was  about  this  time  that  he  turned  his  attention 
to  the  art  of  engraving  new  types,  in  which  he  soon  showed  great 
talent.  In  1768  he  was  placed  by  the  Duke  of  Parma  at  the  head  of 
his  new  printing-office,  which  he  soon  rendered  the  most  famous  in 
Europe.  He  devoted  great  attention  to  the  shape  of  his  Greek  types, 
for  which  he  took  as  a  model  the  most  beautiful  manuscripts  obtainable. 
His  "Homer"  is  perhaps  the  work  which  gained  him  more  renown 
among  scholars  than  any  other.  In  his  "  Manuale  Tipogralico,"  which 
is    a    specimen    book    of   all    his    types,    some:    copies    of    which    were 


Numbers.  69 

printed  on  pure  vellum,  the  lover  of  typographical  excellence  as  pre- 
sented by  elegantly-shaped  letters,  glossy  ink,  and  faultless  press-work, 
may  revel  to  his  heart's  content.      Bodoni  died  in  181 3. 

As  a  curious  freak  of  fickle  fashion,  we  must  notice  the  recent  fate 
of  a  most  interesting  collection  of  books,  all  from  the  press  of  Bodoni, 
collected  during  many  years  by  the  Marquis  Saporiti  della  Sforzesca. 
These  were  sent  to  London  and  sold  publicly  in  December,  1886. 
The  number  of  separate  works  was  over  500,  including,  with  hardly 
an  exception,  specimens  of  the  whole  produce  of  the  Parmese  Press. 
No  such  a  collection  has  ever  before  been  brought  to  the  hammer,  and 
had  it  been  sold  in  Dr.  Dibdin's  time,  when  Bodoni's  fame  was  at  its 
height,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  ,£2,000  at  least  would  have  been 
realised.  Today,  when  "black-letter"  governs  the  market,  and  senti- 
ment rules  over  taste,  Bodoni's  master-pieces  of  typography  are  of  less 
money-value  than  a  Seven  Dials  ballad.  The  whole  of  the  Marquis's 
collection  realised  in  the  gross  but  ^50  js.,  a  sum  far  below  the  prime 
cost  of  two  or  three  volumes,  and  hardly  enough  to  pay  for  printing 
the  sale  catalogue. 

Italy  may  well  be  proud  of  still  another  typographical  son. 
G.  VlESSlEUX,  of  Milan,  who  lived  1779  to  1863,  if  not  remarkable 
for  excellence  of  workmanship,  was  successful,  notwithstanding  great 
opposition  from  the  ruling  classes,  in  obtaining  for  his  native  country 
that  inestimable  boon — freedom  of  the  press. 

FRANCE. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  introduction  of  the  art  to  Paris, 
where  it  spread  with  rapidity  even  in  the  lifetime  of  Ulric  Gering. 
Antoine  Veraro  is  celebrated  for  beiutiful  editions,  many  of  them 
with  splendid  illuminations  ;  but  space  would  fail  to  speak  of  Simon 
Vostre,  of  Pigouchet,  of  Dutre,  of  the  artistic  and  learned  Geoffrey 
Tory,  of  the  martyred  Dolet,  Moel,  and  many  other  worthy  printers. 


~o  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


But  of  all  the  great  printers  that  France  has  produced,  there  are 
none  of  whom  their  countrymen  may  feel  more  proud  than  the  family 
of  the  Estiennes,  who  flourished  from  1 502-1664.  The  two  most 
celebrated  were  Robert  I  and  Henri  I,  father  and  son.  They  both 
printed,  not  for  lucre,  but  from  real  love  of  their  work  and  classic 
literature.  So  intimately  indeed  is  the  biography  of  these  two  great 
men  associated  with  the  mental  growth  of  the  nation  that,  as  Feugere 
says,  "it  rises  to  the  dignity  of  history." 

Henri  I  was  the  founder  of  the  family.  He  printed  and  pub- 
lished at  Paris  for  twenty  years,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  family 
fame  during  the  period  1 502-1 522. 

Robert  I,  his  eldest  son,  succeeded  in  1526  to  his  father's 
printing-office,  placing  over  his  door  a  printer's  mark,  afterwards  of 
world-wide  fame.  It  was  an  olive-tree,  with  the  motto  "Noli  altuiu 
sapor  sed  time"  ("Be  not  high-minded,  but  fear").  He  married  a 
daughter  of  another  famous  Parisian  printer,  Badius  Ascensius,  he 
whose  printer's  mark — a  printing-press,  two  pressmen,  and  a  woman 
composing  types — is  well-known  to  all  lovers  of  old  books.*  It  is 
curious  to  note  that  all  three  of  the  daughters  of  Badius  married 
printers.  For  thirty-three  years  Robert  Estienne  worked  hard  as 
author,  collator,  corrector,  printer,  and  publisher,  producing  volumes 
which  for  beauty  of  workmanship  and  accuracy  of  text  may  vie  with 
tht-  productions  of  any  other  press.  So  important  were  the  Greek 
authors  which  he  for  the  first  time  collated  and  printed,  that  the 
publication  of  those  classics  may  be  almost  said  to  have  begun  with 
him.  It  was  to  some  extent  the  same  with  Latin  authors.  Thus  with 
( rreek,  with  Latin,  with  Bibles,  with  dictionaries  and  grammars,  Robert 
Estienne  was  the  father  of  such  a  series  of  works  as  have  never  been 
equalled  before  or  since.      Patronised  and  favoured  by  Francis  I,  it  was 

ante  (p.  54). 


Numbers.  7 1 


the  high  opinion  of  his  capabilities,  added  to  the  desire  to  outshine  the 
efforts  of  other  countries,  which  induced  the  King  to  defray  out  of  the 
public  purse  the  expenses  of  a  new  series  of  specially  cast  Greek  types. 
With  this  view  Angelo  Vergecio,  the  most  artistic  penman  of  his  time, 
was  engaged  to  design  the  models  for  the  letters  ;  and  the  cutting  of 
the  punches  was  entrusted  to  Garamoncl,  one  of  the  most  skilful 
engravers  of  his  day,  who  himself  was  a  good  scholar,  and  had  taught 
Greek  to  Henri  Estienne  when  a  boy. 

The  production  of  beautiful  and  correct  editions  of  the  Bible 
formed  a  special  feature  of  the  labours  of  Robert  Estienne ;  and  this, 
thanks  to  the  hatred  of  the  priests,  whose  stronghold  was  in  Sorbonne, 
brought  upon  him  the  bitterest  persecution.  To  print  the  Latin 
Vulgate  for  every  one  to  read  was  bad  enough,  but  when  Robert 
Estienne  published  his  three-column  Polyglot,  with  Hebrew  on  one 
side  and  Greek  on  the  other — Christ  between  two  thieves,  as  they 
called  it — their  rage  knew  no  bounds.  So  fierce  was  the  persecution 
that  had  our  printer  stayed  in  Paris,  he  would  probably  have  been, 
like  Dolet,  burnt  alive.  So  in  1551,  having  under  various  pretences 
sent  away  his  family,  he  despatched  his  types  also,  and  quietly 
followed  to  Geneva,  where,  although  subjected  to  many  annoyances, 
chiefly  due  to  his  own  ill-considered  opposition  to  the  civil  government, 
he  was  allowed  to  print  without  hindrance.  Here  he  embraced  the 
Protestant  faith;  and  in  1559,  after  a  life  of  manly  and  unselfish  labour, 
embittered  by  the  persecution  of  those  who  ought  to  have  been  his 
best  friends,  but  sweetened  by  the  knowledge  that  his  toils  and  suffer- 
ings were  for  the  benefit  of  mankind,  he  died. 

Henri  II  succeeded  his  father  at  an  early  age,  and  followed 
in  his  footsteps.  He  travelled  extensively  in  all  the  chief  countries 
of  Europe,  returning  laden  with  new  MSS.  and  new  ideas,  which  were 
soon  apparent  in  his  books.     At  one  time  he  worked  for  about  a  year 


72  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

in  the  printing-office  of  Paulus  Manutius,  after  which  he  returned  to 
Geneva,  devoting  himself  with  fresh  energy  to  his  work.  His  father 
left  him  the  Genevan  printing-office  on  condition  of  his  carrying  it  on 
in  that  city.  This  restriction  was  very  irksome  to  him,  and  what  with 
quarrelling  with  the  authorities  and  constant  journeyings,  his  business 
greatly  declined,  and  in  1570  he  was  insolvent,  dying  some  years  later. 
The  work  he  got  through  in  his  prime  was  immense,  and  often 
prolonged  for  so  many  hours  at  a  time  as  seriously  to  injure  both  mind 
and  body.  His  mental  attainments  and  general  knowledge  were  very 
great,  but  employed  fitfully. 

The  old  typographical  fame  of  France  has  been  well  maintained 
in  more  modern  times  by  the  Didot  family,  whose  history  from  1713 
to  the  present  time  is  the  history  of  French  printing  for  that  period. 
Pierre  Didot  (1761-1853)  not  only  emulated  Bodoni  in  the  beauty 
of  his  workmanship,  but  took  extreme  care — more,  indeed,  than  the 
great  Italian  Printer — to  have  accuracy  of  text.  He  was  an  excellent 
classical  scholar,  and  himself  read  for  press  the  works  of  which  he 
was  most  proud. 

Nor  must  we  omit  to  mention  his  nephew,  Ambrose  Firmin 
Didot,  who,  in  addition  to  his  intimate  knowledge  of  classic  literature, 
was  a  good  antiquarian,  learned  in  bibliography,  a  first-rate  connoisseur 
of  old  engravings,  and  a  weighty  writer  upon  all  subjects  connected 
with  his  own  art. 

France  indeed  may  well  be  proud  of  her  position  in  typographical 
history.  Other  cities  may  boast  of  individual  celebrities,  an  Aldus,  or 
the  Elseviers,  a  Plantin,  a  Bodoni,  or  a  Baskerville.  But  at  Paris,  from 
Gering,  through  Verard,  Badius,  Ascensius,  Kerver,  the  Estiennes, 
Dolet,  the  great  Didot  family,  and  numerous  others,  there  has  been 
such  an  unbroken  succession  of  great  and  famous  printers  as  must 
always  command  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  posterity. 


Numbers.  j^ 


It  should  be  added  that  several  French  printers,  in  modern  times, 
have  laboured  for  the  mental  improvement  of  the  men  and  boys 
employed  by  them,  and  with  considerable  success.  The  efforts  of 
M.  A.  Ciiaix,  of  Paris,  in  this  direction  have  received  emphatic 
acknowledgment  from  the  State  and  all  philanthropists. 

Sebastian  Cramoisy,  who  by  the  order  of  Louis  XIII  founded 
the  Royal  Printing-office,  must  not  be  overlooked;  nor  must  Antoine 
Vitre,  who  combined  excellence  of  type-founding  with  excellence  of 
printing.  He  was  the  first  in  all  France  to  print  with  Syriac  types. 
His  famous  Polyglot  Bible  of  1645  keeps  his  memory  green  among 
bibliophiles. 

SWITZFRLAND 

May  justly  pride  herself  on  being  the  mother  of  Parisian, 
and  therefore  of  French,  typography.  To  one  of  her  sons,  Ulkic 
Gering,  who,  with  two  companions  left  Basle,  and  began  printing 
at  the  Sorbonne,  France  owes  her  first  press.  At  Basle,  too,  Jean 
Amerbach  gained  great  reputation  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  as  also  did  Operinus.  But  the  most  famous  printer  was 
John  Froben,  of  Basle,  who  was  justly  proud  of  his  accuracy.  Com- 
petition, and  consequent  reduction  in  price,  were  evils  strongly  felt 
and  resented  by  Froben.  In  his  Preface  to  the  Concordance  of 
1525  appears  the  following  dialogue,  which  is  somewhat  curtailed 
from  the  original  : — 

"Customer. — Well,  Froben,  what  book  have  you  there? 
Froben. — One  which  is  equally  your  interest  to  buy  as  mine  to  sell. 
Customer. — Something  quite  new,  then? 
Froben. — Neither  new  nor  old,  for  it  is  both. 
Customer. — You  talk  in  riddles. 

Froben. — It  is  a  book  called  'The  Concordance  to  the  Sacred  Scriptures.' 
Customer. — Why,  that  has  been  printed  ever  so  many  times. 


74  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 

Froben. — True  !  but  if  I  have  reprinted  it,  it  is  for  the  good  of  all.  The  sun 
itself  does  not  appear  every  day,  when  it  does  shine  it  is  just  the  same  sun,  while  my  book 
here  is  a  decided  improvement  on  the  usual  text. 

Customer. — You  can  assure  me  of  its  correctness. 

Froben. — You  know  that  it  is  almost  an  impossibility  to  ensure  positive  freedom 
from  error,  but  if  the  care  I  have  bestowed  upon  it  has  not  been  thrown  away  you  will 
find  it  very  correct.     Moreover,  there  is  more  in  it  than  in  the  previous  edition. 

Customer. — I  congratulate  you,  but  I  fear  you  will  get  but  little  credit  for  all  your 
labour  ;  besides,  do  you  not  find  so  much  toil  hastens  old  age  ? 

Froben. — What  matters  it  ?  'Tis  my  destiny.  And  if  she  does  bring  me  old  age 
and  its  troubles,  you  have  the  power  to  ease  them. 

Customer. — Indeed,  how  ? 

Froben. — By  purchasing  this  volume  at  once,  and  thanking  me  for  offering  it  to  you. 

Customer. — But  have  you  no  compunction  in  thus  selling  your  own  child  ? 

Froben. — Not  the  least.     It  was  for  you  and  not  myself  that  I  begot  it. 

Customer. — What  is  its  price? 

Froben. — Stoop,  and  I  will  whisper  it  in  your  ear. 

Customer. — Oh!  goodness;  much  too  dear. 

Froben. — There!  take  it  home  and  look  at  it.  If  you  then  repent  your  bargain  I 
will  return  your  money. 

Customer. — You  could  not  say  fairer. 

Froben. — Everyone  can  be  prodigal  of  words,  but  Froben  holds  to  what  he  promises. 

Customer. — Here,  then,  is  the  purchase-money  in  full  tale. 

Froben. — And  here  is  the  book  in  good  condition,  and  I  hope  we  shall  both 
be  pleased." 

THE     NETHERLANDS. 

|.  Bellaekt,  of  Haarlem,  1483,  is  the  first  printer  whose 
name  we  find  in  Dutch  typographical  annals;  and  of  the  numerous 
other  names  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  century,  but  few  call  for 
special   notice. 

Perhaps  the  most  celebrated  printer  who  flourished  in  Holland 
was  Abraham  Elsevier,  who  was  born  at  Leyden  in  1592.  Baillet 
calls  him  "the  Prince  of  Printers,  not  only  in  Holland,  but  throughout 
all    Europe,"   and    no    doubt   for    many  years   that    character  was  true. 


]  mi     PLANUM    MUSEUM,     U    INTWJ  RP. 


^ 


X /tin  hers.  75 


The  family  flourished  for  more  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  as 
printers,  and  to  this  day  some  of  the  books  which  issued  from  their 
presses  are  among  the  chief  treasures  of  the  bibliophile. 

W.  J.  Blaeu,  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  was  not 
only  remarkable  for  the  excellence  and  diminutive  size  of  the  books  he 
issued,  but  deserves  honourable  mention  for  greatly  improving  the  old 
wooden  presses  used  in  his  day. 

The  "  Pensioners"  of  Holland  and  the  "Doges"  of  Venice  were 
important  persons  in  their  day ;  that  day  has  passed,  and  now  who 
thinks  much  about  them?  But  our  Elseviers  and  Aldines  live  still, 
not  in  name  only,  but  as  vital  realities  ;  and  their  books  continue  to 
be  prized  not  only  for  their  beauty  and  rarity,  but  for  the  standard 
accuracy  of  the  text. 

BELGIUM. 

After  the  printers  who  first  brought  the  art  to  Belgium  we  meet 
with  no  one  of  special  note  until  the  time  of  Christopher  Plantin,* 
who  founded  a  family  of  printers  of  world-wide  fame.  His  great 
Polyglot  Bible  of  eight  folio  volumes,  published  in  1569-72,  is  a 
wonder  of  erudition  and  good  workmanship.  The  last  descendant  of 
the  family,  En.  Moretus,  has  lately  disposed  of  the  old  house  and 
all  its  contents  to  the  town  of  Antwerp,  who  have  opened  it  to  the 
public  as  a  museum,  where  may  be  seen  five  portraits  of  the  family 
painted  by  Rubens,  and  many  other  noteworthy  objects  of  art  and 
typography.  No  one  should  visit  Antwerp  without  paying  a  visit  to 
this  most  interesting  museum. 

SPAIN. 

The  only  name  of  great  repute  in  this  country  is  that  of  Ibarra, 
who  printed  some  excellent  books  at  Madrid  in  the  Bodoni  style.  He 
died  in  1785. 

*  Portrait  on  page  76. 

I     2 


76 


The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


loartKtj    'W^rtx     C^tt 


<~l'tncis    dum  pateris .  Plantine ,  tuosque    lavores 
^j/Eternum    cetermim  Jama    hauetur  anus. 
*^Nec  Qtuiiare  opus    Inviazct    tu    tunderis    arsiu 
lOijjhrs    tantum.    tiindlt  at   tjle  vtros  . 

PORTRAIT   OF    CHRISTOPHER    PLANTIN. 


ENGLAND. 

After  the:  death  of  Caxton,  in  1491,  his  workmen  set  up  for  them- 
selves. Wynken  hi  Wordi-:,  who  succeeded  his  master,  was  the  most 
celebrated,  and  issued  many  hundreds  of  books.  Dibdin,  some  seventy 
years  ago,  quoted  over  400,  and  there  are  probably  now  more  than 
600  known  to  bibliographers,  the  whole  sadly  in  want  of  an  en- 
thusiast  who  would   devote  a    lew    years  to  their  study.      PvNSON  and 


A' a  in  l>crs. 


77 


Wolffe  were  prolific  typographers,  and  John  Day,  the  printer  of  the; 
Reformation,  gave  to  the  world  over  350  books.  In  the  1 6th  century, 
however,  the  Government  interfered  and  placed  the  Press  under  severe 
restrictions,  upon  pretence  of  stopping 
treasonable  and  heretical  publications. 
A  series  of  barbarous  enactments 
soon  reduced  printing  to  a  dangerous 
and  unremunerative  employment.  The 
effects  were  seen  at  once  by  the  de- 
graded condition  to  which  both  master 
printers  and  their  workmen  were  re- 
duced ;  ignorance  and  incapacity  being 
the  leading  characteristics  of  the  craft, 
instead  of  learning  and  intelligence. 
Thus,  while  in   France   and    Germany 

the   printer   held    an   honourable    posi-  portrait  of  john  day     1562. 

tion,    above    that    of   the    trader,    in    England    he    was    a   mere   slave 
to   the   Stationers,   to  whom   Government  deputed  tyrannical   powers 
of   oppression    and    sup- 
pression. 


With  the  restoration 
of  freedom  a  great  im- 
provement took  place  ; 
and  the  names  of  John 
Cave,      who      originated 

ztne,     the      Woodfalls,  ^^fro^ 

John  Nichols,  Benslev,  johx  day's  trade  mark- 

Baskerville,    and    others,    raised    the    fame    of    English    printers    to 
a   great   height.       The    SroTTiswoooE    family    are   also   celebrated    in 


78 


The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


our    typographical    annals,   and   none   more  so    than    the    philosopher, 
the  antiquarian,  the  great  man  of  science,  the  hard  working  printer, 


WII.MAM     SfOTTISU I 


and   the  warm   friend,    William   Spottiswoode,    F.S.A.,   F. R.S.,   who 
died  in    [881. 


Numbers. 


79 


AMERICA. 

In  the  New  World,  the  most  famous  name  in  the  annals  of 
printing  is  that  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  who,  as  a  lad,  learned  his 
trade  in  the  printing  office   of  Samuel    Palmer,   in    London,   in    1724. 


IENJAMIN    FRANKLIN. 


On  his  return  to  his  native  country  two  years  later,  he  entered  into 
business  as  a  printer  in  Philadelphia.  His  literary  and  scientific  tastes 
soon  made  him  a  man  of  mark,  and  America  to  this  day  claims  few 
more  distinguished  sons  than   the   philosopher  and  statesman,  one  of 


So 


The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


4tfjZ*£> 


Cf^^J^Z^pS-  Sp/^ 


-/z^n-et-fi- 


■S~ 


C^^r/^    <c/?'c^Zn<br,-  . J^i^    O^-f^   Sterns   *ri 


€y     c^rt-Ji — 


«sZ-s>rz_ 


Numbers. 


Si 


whose  chief  boasts  it  was  that  he  had  served  his  time  at  the  press. 
The  actual  press  at  which  he  worked  in  London  is  still  in  existence, 
and  is  preserved  by  his  countrymen,  as  a  precious  relic,  in  the  Smith- 
sonian Institute,  at  Washington.* 

In  our  own  days,  America  has,  in  the  person  of  Tiieo.  L.  De  Vinne, 
of  New  York,  a  worthy  type  of  the  enlightened  and  artistic  printer. 


STATIONERS     HALL. 


A  cut  of  this  press  is  given  on  page  56. 


DEUTERONOMY. 


They  have  sought  out  many  inventions." — 


Ecci.es. 


m   J 


DEUTERONOMY. 


IN  Leviticus  we  traced  the  laws  which  governed  the  earliest  stage 
of  the  printing-press.  In  Deuteronomy — which  is  the  repetition 
and  development  of  the  law — we  see  an  expansion  and  a  second 
birth  of  the  press,  almost  equal  in  importance  to  the  first — viz.,  the 
invention  of  the  Steam  Printing  Machine.  The  advance  then  made 
towards  rapid  and  cheap  printing  has  had  almost  as  revolutionary  an 
effect  on  the  education  and  opinions  of  the  nineteenth  century  masses 
as  had  the  original  invention  of  printing  upon  the  sixteenth  century 
middle-class.  And  as  at  first  the  art  of  printing  was  developed  and 
improved  both  in  excellence  and  speed  for  many  a  year  after  Guten- 
berg, so  the  modern  machine,  which  started  in  1814,  is  still  developing 
its  wonderful  capacity  for  improvement  and  speed  until  the  mind 
wonders  if  any  limit  can  be  assigned  to  its  powers. 

In  T/QO  all  printing  was  effected  by  hand-labour.  The  types  were 
hand-cast — the  compositors'  hands  were  employed  in  arranging  them — 
the  paper  was  hand-made — the  pressman's  muscles  were  called  into 
play  to  handle  the  bar.  Sheet  by  sheet  he  took  up  the  paper  and 
placed  it  in  position  upon  the  tympan,  brought  down  the  frisket  to 
keep  it  in  place,  turned  it  over  upon  the  ready-inked  type,  ran  the 
whole  by  means  of  a  winch   under  the  press,  pulled  the  bar  or  lever 


86  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


which  gave  the  impression,  turned  the  winch  again,  raised  the  tympan 
and  frisket,  and  released  the  now-printed  sheet.  This  series  of  move- 
ments, all  requisite  to  print  one  side  only,  took  really  a  shorter  time  in 
action  than  is  here  taken  in  the  description ;  but  the  strongest  workman, 
with  muscles  indurated  by  years  of  labour,  could,  with  the  help  of  a 
"fly-boy"  to  take  off  the  sheets,  and  a  "partner"  to  beat  the  form, 
scarcely  exceed  250  pulls  per  hour,  and  that  only  on  one  side  of  a 
sheet — a  snail-pace  at  which  all  cheap  printing  was  impossible. 

In  this  same  year,  1790,  the  shadow  of  a  great  change  soon  to  be 
effected  in  printing  was  thrown  upon  the  scene.  John  Nicholson,  a 
clever  mechanician,  took  out  a  patent  for  printing  by  machinery,  in 
which  he  specified  those  very  principles  of  action  which  have  been  the 
basis  of  every  successful  printing-machine  since  made.  Nicholson, 
although  clever  in  many  ways,  had  none  of  the  qualities  which  ensure 
success  in  life.  Improvident,  without  tenacity  of  purpose  or  per- 
severance, his  brains  benefited  others  but  not  himself,  and  he  died  in 
1 81  5  without  seeing  the  success  of  any  of  his  numerous  inventions. 

Until  the  year  181 1,  when  Kcenig  succeeded  in  the  attempt,  the 
possibility  of  a  machine  being  invented  which  could  successfully 
perform  all  the  varied  operations  just  described  was  considered  by  all 
master-printers  as  a  scheme  fit  only  for  Utopia.  Thus  it  happened 
that  Nicholson,  bankrupt  and  disheartened  by  misfortune,  let  his  plans 
slumber  in  the  Patent  Office  neglected  and  unnoticed,  simply  because 
no  one  had  sufficient  faith  in  him  to  advance  capital  for  the  purposes  of 
experiment. 

Of  a  very  different  mould  was  Frederick  Kcenig,  a  young 
German,  who  about  1804,  began  to  work  out  his  ideas  for  improving 
the  mechanism  of  the  old  wooden  press.  Endowed  with  mechanical 
genius,  great  perseverance,  and,  above  all,  a  firm  belief  in  himself,  he 
worked  unceasingly  to  accomplish   his  aim,  and  to  him,  without  doubt, 


Deuteronomy. 


8/ 


must  be  awarded  the  honour  of  making  the  first  workable  Printing- 
machine.  His  early  attempts  were  quite  unsuccessful.  Neglected  in 
his  native  land,  and  befooled  in  Russia,  he  at  last  came  to  London, 
where,  after  a  period  of  want  and  disappointment,  his  evident  clever- 
ness and  perseverance  interested  the  well-known  printer,  J.  Bensley, 
in  his  designs.  Although  in  after  years  bitter  feelings  existed,  and 
still  more  bitter  words  passed  between  these  two,  it  should  never 
be  forgotten  that  Bensley  was  Kcenig's  earliest  and  best  friend  in 
London.  He  was  the  first  to  recognise  his  powers,  and  without  his 
assistance,  Kcenig  would,  in  all  probability,  have  gone  to  his  grave— 


CENTENARY    MEDAL   OF    THE  WALTERS,    OF   "THE   TIMES 


as  many  other  inventors  quite  as  clever  have  done — his  genius 
unrecognised,  and  his  whole  life  embittered  by  disappointment. 
Mr.  Walter,  of  T/ie  Times,  although  more  interested  than  any  one 
in  the  improvement  of  the  press,  did  not  see  enough  in  Kcenig's 
first  machines  to  induce  him  to  assist,  until  success  had  made  assist- 
ance safe  ;  but  Bensley  year  after  year  supported  him,  and  found  funds 
for  costly  experiments,  which,  although  displaying  great  cleverness  and 
ingenuity,  led  to  no  successful  result.  From  1806,  when  he  came  to 
London,  to  1S11,  Kcenig  made  two  complete  machines  (not  including 
his  first  wooden  trial),  but  both  were  unsuccessful,  because  they  were 
founded  on  the  false  principle  of  the  old  hand-presses,  viz.,  impressions 


88 


The  Pentateuch  of  Printing 


l: 


mi      innrtnm iiiiiiiini 


FLAT    IMPRESSION. 
(a)   Type.  I/')  Plate, 


from  a  flat  surface  or  platen.  Disheartened  by  iailure,  and,  as  he 
himself  confessed,  at  his  wits'  end  what  to  do  next,  an  accidental 
occurrence  put  him  on  the  right  road.  Bensley,  his  partner,  by  chance 
visited  Nicholson,  to  obtain  from  him  some  information  concerning 
those  patent  laws  with  which  a  long 
and  sad  experience  had  rendered  him 
familiar.  He  found  him  in  the  debtors' 
gaol,  and  then  he  heard  for  the  first 
time  of  Nicholson's  patents.  Fluttered 
and  anxious,  Bensley  took  Kcenig  straight  off  to  read  the  particulars. 
Kcenig  did  read  them,  and  read  them  carefully,  but  with  great  con- 
tempt for  their  crudeness,  and  immediately  forgot  all  he  had  read!  (at 
least  he  declared  so  fifteen  years  later).  However  this  may  have  been, 
he  at  once  set  about  constructing  a  new  machine,  in  which  all  his 
previous  plans  of  impression  were  thrown  aside,  and  (wonderful  coin- 
cidence!) Nicholson's  method  of 
pressure,  by  means  of  a  cylin- 
der, beneath  which  the  type 
ran,  was  adopted.  This  was 
the  turn  in  the  tide  which 
led  on  to  fortune,  at  least  the 
magic  word  "success"  crowned 
Kcenigf's  toil. 


a 


a 


a 


u 


a 


SINGLE   CYLINDRICAL   IMPRESSION — TYPE   OR    PLATES 

ON    HIE  FLAT. 
(«f  Type  or  Plates,    i/'t  Cylinder.    (ctd)  Direction  of  Cylinder. 


John  Walter,  of  "The 
Times,"  now  approved  and 
adopted  the  new  machine ;  and 
from  that  time  to  the  present  improvements  have  been  made  by 
a  succession  of  clever  mechanicians,  until  the  printing-machine  of 
to-day  is  a  surprising  piece  of  human  ingenuity,  which  by  its  sim- 
plicity excites  the  wonder,  and  by  its  cleverness  the  admiration,  of 
every   beholder. 


Deuteronomy. 


So 


It  is  here  only  fair  to  state  that  Herr  Goebel,  the  German  biogra- 
pher of  Koenig,  and  all  who  sympathise  with  him,  ant  very  indignant 
at  this  version  of  the  story.  They  utterly  deny  that  Koenig  owed 
anything  to  Nicholson,  and  have  heaped  scorn  on  the  heads  of  un- 
believers in  their  hero.  But  the  plain  sequence  of  facts  is  against  them. 
First,  we  have  Kcenig  unsuccessful  in  his  trials  with  a  platen  machine; 
secondly,  we  find  him  reading  Nicholson's  plans  for  a  cylinder  machine; 
thirdly,  we  see  Kcenig  rejecting  at  once  his  first  ideas,  and  successfully 
adopting  those  of  Nicholson.  I  adhere  to  my  opinion  that,  while 
4 


a  a  a 

DOUBLE   CYLINDRICAL    IMPRESSION    OK   A    PERFECTING    MACHINE — TYPE   OR 

PLATES   ON    THE   FLAT. 
(,*>   Type  or  Plates.    (01,  6a)  Cylinders.    (c,d)  Direction  oj 'Cylinders,    (e)  Ink  Rollers. 

admitting  the  great  mechanical  genius  of  Kcenig,  as  shown  throughout 
his  career,  he  nevertheless  at  this  critical  point  owed  his  success  to  the 
undeveloped  plans  of  William  Nicholson. 

To  consider  this  as  derogatory  to  the  genius  of  Kcenig  is  to  take 
a  false  view  of  things.  No  one  doubts  Handel's  genius  because  he 
built  some  of  his  melodies  upon  the  themes  of  previous  musicians,  or 
thinks  the  worse  of  Shakspeare  for  adopting  the  old  story  of  "  Romeo 
and  Juliet,"  and  weaving  therewith  his  immortal  tragedy.  Why,  then, 
should  Germans  resent  the  statement  (which  is  simply  historical)  that 
Nicholson  supplied  Kcenig  with  an  idea  which  his  mechanical  genius 
at  once  made  his  own,  and  successfully  developed  ? 


go 


The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


Koenig's  first  success  was  a  machine  which  printed  one  side  of  the 
paper  only.  He  next  constructed  one  which,  by  duplicating  the  parts, 
printed  both  sides  of  the  sheet.  Donkin  and  Bacon  made  the  great 
advance  of  using  a  composition  of  glue  and  treacle  for  rollers,  instead 
of  leather,  which  had  never  been  satisfactory.  In  1815  Cowper  took 
out  a  patent  for  placing  curved  stereotype  plates  round  a  cylinder,  the 
principle  of  which  had  already  engaged  the  attention  of  Nicholson. 
Cowper  carried  this  plan  to  a  great  pitch  of  perfection  in  the  machines 
made  for  The  Times,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present  every 
year  shows  new   improvements  and  higher  efficiency.      The   varieties 

in  modern  printing  machines 
are  innumerable,  and  their 
management  requires  great 
intelligence  on  the  part  of 
the  "minder,"  who,  if  he 
understands  his  duty,  de- 
serves and  can  command 
high  wages. 

Few  sights  are  more  im- 
pressive than  the  machine- 
room  of  one  of  our  daily  papers  in  the  small  hours  of  the  morning. 
Suppose  you  have  obtained  an  order  to  see  the  paper  put  to  press,  the 
best  way  is  to  engage  rooms  for  the  night  at  a  neighbouring  hotel.  If 
the  stage  has  attractions  for  you,  there  will  be  plenty  of  time  for  a 
leisurely  supper  after  the  play  is  over,  and  then,  about  two  o'clock,  to  sally 
into  Fleet  Street,  which,  even  at  this  hour,  is  anything  but  a  neglected 
thoroughfare.  Entering  the  printing-office,  we  visit  the  foundry-room 
first,  where  the  foreman  explains  the  use  of  various  tools  and  arrange- 
ments, ami  has  scarcely  finished  when  the  first  page  of  the  paper  comes 
down  from  the  composing-room.  There  is  no  dawdling  now.  The  page 
of  type  is  quickly  placed  beneath  the  platen  of  a  press,  and  a  thick  sheet 


CYLINDRICAL   IMPRESSION    FROM    CURVED   STEREOTYPE. 

(/-)  Cylinder.      tc,  d)  Direction  of  Cylinder. 

It)  Ink  Rollers.      ( /)  Cylinder  on  which  arc  mounted  Curved 

Stereotypes. 


i  H)     "  HOI    "    NEWSPAPER    PRIN  mm.    M  l<  iiim-. 


r 


Deuteronomy.  91 


of  a  soft  material — a  mixture  of  papier-mache"  and  plaster  of  Paris, 
called  the  flong — is  placed  upon  the  face  of  the  type.  The  platen 
descends,  and  by  pressure  forces  the  type  into  the  soft  flong,  and  makes 
a  complete  mould.  The  flong  is  then  dried  rapidly  while  still  adhering 
to  the  type.  When  taken  off,  it  is  placed  in  a  beautifully  made  steel 
mould.  This  mould  is  curved  to  a  quarter-circle,  and  when  the  flong 
is  placed  inside  it,  and  the  liquid  metal  poured  in,  the  result  is  a 
curved  plate,  with  a  cast  from  the  type  on  its  outer  surface.  This 
plate  is  placed  upon  a  saddle,  and  all  excrescences  rapidly  removed 
with  great  skill  from  the  edges  and  various  spaces  ;  it  is  ready  then  for 
the  machine-room.  So  soon  as  eight  pages  are  fastened  on  the  cylinder 
of  the  first  machine  the  printing  begins.  At  one  end  of  the  machine 
is  a  heavy  reel  of  paper,  sufficient  to  make  about  6,000  complete 
papers.  It  is  wound  round  a  core  like  that  used  for  a  garden-hose,  and 
forms  a  solid  mass,  which  unwinds  rapidly  when  the  machine  grips  it. 
A  knife  with  unerring  precision  cuts  off  each  paper  as  soon  as  printed, 
and  delivers  it  onto  a  collecting  board.  Soon  after  No.  1  machine 
gets  to  work,  No.  2  is  supplied  with  plates  and  started  ;  so  with  the 
other  machines,  until  eight  or  nine  are  all  printing  at  once,  each 
delivering  about  12,000  complete  copies  an  hour,  so  that  with  eight 
machines  the  delivery  would  be  96,000  per  hour.  The  din  is  something 
awful,  and  entirely  prevents  the  asking  of  questions.  Relays  of  men 
are  always  hurrying  away  from  each  machine  loaded  with  printed 
papers.  These  are  counted  into  quires  in  the  warehouse,  and  at  once 
delivered  to  the  newsagents.  A  curious  and  interesting  circumstance 
attending  such  speedy  printing  is  the  large  amount  of  electricity  excited 
by  the  friction  of  the  paper  in  its  passage,  and  the  storing  of  this 
electricity  in  the  printed  heaps.  I  have  seen  quite  a  long  spark  dart 
out  of  a  heap  into  a  man's  knee  ;  and  occasionally  much  inconvenience 
arises    from    electrical    repulsion    and    attraction,   interfering    with    the 


passage  of  the  sheets. 


s 

x  2 


The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


EARLY    LOGOTYPES. 


The  laws  of  printing  machinery  are  not  the  only  phase  of  the  Art 
in  which  the  original  invention  has  been  supplemented  by  a  second. 

The  compositor's  work  is  so  specially  intelligent  that  it  was 
thought  no  machinery  could  ever  be  brought  to  supersede  it.  Early 
in  the  present  century,  however,  an  attempt  was  made  to  economize 

labour  by  cementing  into  one  piece  common 
words,  or  combinations  of  letters  of  frequent 
recurrence.  These  "logotypes,"  as  they  were 
styled,  were  introduced  by  Mr.  John  Walter, 
of  The  Times,  and  used  in  the  composition  of 
that  paper,  as  well  as  in  general  bookwork, 
for  some  years.  But  the  difficulty  of  adapting 
the  "case"  for  these  numerous  additional  "sorts"  proved  a  bar  to 
their  general  adoption,  and  in  a  short  time  the  compositor  reverted 
to  the  single  letters. 

Of  late  years  the  composing  machine,  formerly  but  a  plaything, 
has  made  great  strides  towards  perfection.  The  help  of  electricity 
has  here  also  been  called  in,  and  as  fast  as  the  hand  can  move,  the 
separate  types  make  a  continuous  and  rapid  flow  into  perfect  lines. 
Mure  wonderful  still,  a  distributing  machine  has  been  made,  which 
takes  the  pages  of  types  after  they  have  fulfilled  their  duty,  and  without 
the  aid  of  hands  sends  each  letter  down  a  separate  channel  to  its 
own  particular  destination,  and  that  at  a  speed  with  which  a  compositor 
could  never  compete. 

One  more  marvel  :  Before  me  is  a  book  which  to  the  eye  appears 
printed  as  other  books  with  types,  and  yet  not  a  type  has  been  used. 
It  is  truly  an  anomaly,  typography  without  types.  The  machine  is 
worked  by  means  of  keys  something  like  a  piano.  Behind  is  a  block 
of  teak  wood,  properly  placed  in  its  position.  This  block  sinks  and 
adapts  itself  automatically  to  the  various  positions  requisite  lor  it  to 


Deuteronomy. 


occupy.  Suppose  the  first  word  of  your  copy  is  "  Print,"  you  touch  the 
right  key  and  out  darts  a  steel  punch,  on  the  end  of  which  is  a  "  P." 
This  punch  is  driven  into  the  wood  an  exact  distance,  and  in  the  exact 
position  proper  for  the  first  word  of  a  sentence.  The  blow  given,  the 
punch  retires,  and  leaves  a  beautifully  clear  matrix  in  the  wood.  The 
punch  "r"  follows  in  the  same  way;  the  "r"  key  is  pressed,  and  the 
punch  is  driven  in  just  by  the  side  of  the  former.  The  other  three 
letters  follow  in  due  course,  and  so  on  with  word  after  word,  until  a 
whole  line  is  complete,  when  the  block  automatically  shifts  itself,  and  a 
fresh  line  just  beneath  the  other  is  commenced.  By  a  clever  arrange- 
ment, the  lines  are  all  made  of  one  even  length,  and  when  a  page  is 
thus  completely  punched,  the  block  of  wood  is  used  as  a  mould  from 
which  stereotype  plates  are  taken,  which  print  evenly  and  beautifully. 
The  speed  and  accuracy  of  this  wonderful  machine  is  truly  astonishing, 
but  there  are  too  many  drawbacks  to  the  method  to  commend  it  for 
most  practical  purposes.  Correction,  for  instance,  entails  entire  re- 
composition  ;  while  as  regards  the  appearance  of  the  matter  in  print, 
it  must  be  admitted  that,  excellent  as  the  result  is,  considering-  the 
method  and  material  in  which  it  is  produced,  it  cannot  for  a  moment 
compare  for  delicacy  and  regularity  with  the  result  to  be  obtained  by 
the  old-fashioned  use  of  types,  set  by  the  compositor's  hand.  The 
great  merit  claimed  for  these  machines  and  others  of  a  similar  kind 
(amongst  which  the  "Linotype"  may  be  mentioned  as  mechanically 
the  most  ingenious),  is  speed  and  cheapness, — qualities  which  do  not 
always  assort  with  fine  work,   or  even  easy  legibility. 

The  last  invention  I  will  mention  is  the  method  of  producing 
printing  surfaces  by  photo-typography — a  plan  which  to  a  great  extent 
supersedes  stereotype  plates,  especially  where  any  change  of  size  is 
desirable.  A  zinc  plate  is  prepared  photographically,  and  the  drawing 
or  page  of  a  book  to  be  used   is   focused   with   a  camera   to   the   size 


94  The  Pentateuch   of  Printing. 


ordered.  An  image  is  thus  taken  on  the  metal  plate,  which  is  chemi- 
cally rendered  insoluble  by  acids  in  the  parts  where  the  image  has 
impinged.  The  plate  is  then  treated  to  an  acid  bath,  when  all  the  parts 
where  the  image  is  not  are  eaten  away,  and  in  half  an  hour  to  an  hour 
a  raised  surface,  sufficiently  high  to  print  from,  is  left.  For  work 
without  very  fine  lines  this  process  is  extremely  useful. 


A  CHAPTER  ON  JUDGES 


"'77s  with  our  judgments  as  with  our  watches;  none 
Go  just  alike,  yet  each  believes  bis  own." — 


A   CHAPTER  ON   |UDGES. 


THIS  work  is  intended  to  be  a  popular  outline  only  of  an  exten- 
sive subject;  but,  in  order  to  assist  any  reader  who  wishes  to 
study  the  question  more  deeply,  a  list  of  authors,  who  by  their 
works  are  entitled  to  be  called  Judges,  is  here  given.  Several  works 
well  known  to  bibliographers,  such  as  those  of  Dr.  Dibdin,  have  been 
purposely  omitted,  because,  however  pleasant  to  read,  they  carry  no 
weight  historically  or  bibliographically.  The  titles  of  English  works 
have  been  preferred  when  the  author  has  written  with  care  and  know- 
ledge; but  as  the  subject  in  its  entirety  cannot  be  mastered  without 
consulting  also  the  writings  of  French  and  German  Judges,  such  of 
their  works  as  supply  new  facts  or  arguments  unnoticed  in  English 
bibliography  are  also  admitted  on  the  list.  Full  titles  are  not  necessary 
and  occupy  much  room  ;  and  as  all  the  works  quoted  ought  to  be  in 
every  good  public  library,  short  titles  have  been  considered  sufficient, 
the  name  under  which  they  should  be  sought  in  the  catalogue  being 
printed  in  italics. 

The  bibliography  of  the  Genesis  of  Printing  may  be  divided  into 
two  classes — external  and  internal.  The  external,  or  historical,  aspect 
has  been  of  late  subjected  to  a  searching  scrutiny  never  contemplated 


o8  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


a  generation  ago.  The  result  has  been  to  nullify  the  testimony  of 
many  witnesses  whose  evidence  was  considered  unimpeachable  by 
former  judges.  One  good  result  has  been  effected:  the  innumerable 
writers  who  have  founded  their  theories  and  arguments  upon  what  now 
are  acknowledged  to  be  spurious  documents  may  be  swept  out  of  our 
path.     The  real  judges  are  now  few. 

i.  "The  Haarlem  Legend,"  by  Dr.  Van  der  Linde,  was  originally 
published  in  Dutch,  in  1870.  Translated  and  printed  in 
English,  in  1S71.  This  work  sweeps  away  all  the  so-called 
historical  evidence  upon  which  the  claims  of  Coster  to  be 
the  Inventor  of  Printing  were  founded. 

2.  "Gutenberg."      By  Dr.  Van  der  Linde.      1880.      Here,  in  addi- 

tion to  demolishing  the  Coster-myth,  the  author  narrates 
the  invention  of  Printing  by  Gutenberg,  with  full  historical 
references. 

3.  "Gutenberg:  Was  he  the  Inventor  of  Printing?"    By  Dr.  Hcssels. 

1882.  All  the  original  documents  concerning  Gutenberg,  as 
quoted  by  Van  der  Linde,  are  here  examined  critically;  many 
are  shown  to  be  false,  and  the  residue  not  decisive  as  to 
Gutenberg's  claims  to  the  invention. 

4.  "Geschichte  der  Erfindung  der  Buchdruck-kunst."    By  Dr.  Van 

der  Linde.  1886.  The  subject  is  treated  in  three  immense 
folio  volumes,  padded  and  watered  to  an  unlimited  extent, 
no  attempt  being  made  to  uphold  the  genuine  character  of 
the  documents  disallowed  by  Dr.  Hessels.  This  work  is 
not  likely  to  be  translated  on  account  of  its  swollen  bulk 
and   uncritical  character. 

The  internal  evidences  deduced  from   die  character  of  the  types, 
the  evidence  of  individual  workmanship  olten  apparent,  and  what  may 


A   Chapter  on  Judges.  99 


be  called  the  "habits"  of  the  early  printers,  are  of  the  greatest  impor- 
tance. They  are,  to  some  extent,  noticed  in  works  1,  2,  3,  and  4, 
but  may  be  specially  noted  under  the  names  of: — 

5.  Fournicr,  Henri ;  "  Traite  de  la  Typographic.' 

6.  Didot,  Amb.  Firmin ;  "  Essai  sur  la  Typographic" 

7.  Bernard,  Aug.  ;  "  De  l'Origine  et  des  Debuts  de  rimprimerie 

en  Europe." 

8.  Dupont,  Paul ;  "  Histoire  de  rimprimerie." 

9.  Faulman,  Karl;  "  Geschichte  der  Buchdruckerkunst." 

10.  Ottlcy,     W.     T. ;     "Inquiry    concerning    the     Invention     of 

Printing." 

11.  De    Viuue,  Tlieo  ;  "The   Invention  of  Printing." 

12.  Skeen,   W.  ;  "  Early  Typography." 

Excellent   fac-simile  plates  will  be  found  in 

13.  Sotkeby,  S.  L.  ;  "  Principia  Typographica." 

14.  Berjeau,    J.    Ph.  ;    facsimiles    of    the    "  Biblia     Pauperum," 

"  Speculum."  and  several  other  block-books,   not  so  good. 

15.  Holtrop,  J.    W. ;  "  Monumens    Typographiques    des     Pays 

Bas." 

16.  Weigel  &  Zestennann;  "Collectio  Weigeliana," — best  of  all. 

This  list  by  no  means  exhausts  the  books  to  be  consulted  under  this 
head,  but  will  furnish  the  student  with  an  ample  basis  for  further 
research. 

The  Exodus,  or  spread,  of   Printing  is  treated  generally  in  the 
works  1  to  9.     To  these  must  be  added  the  following  useful  books  : — 

17.  Cotton,  Rev.  H. ;  "Typographical  Gazetteer,"  series  1  and  2. 

18.  Panzer,  G.   IF.;  "Annales  Typographici." 

19.  Hain,  L. ;  "  Repertorium  Bibliographicum." 

o  2 


roo  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


The  special  works  on   the  first    Presses  of   the  various  countries 
are  so  numerous  that  only  a  few  can  be  noted  : — 

For  England  : 

20.  Herbert's    Edition    of    Ames'    "  Typographical    Antiquities." 

This  edition  is  preferable  to  Dibdin's. 
For  Caxton  and  Westminster  : 

21.  Blades,    Wm. ;    "Biography    and    Typography    of    William 

Caxton.-' 
For  Cambridge  : 

22.  Bradskaw,    Henry;     Introduction  to   reprint  of    "Bullocks' 

Oratio." 
F"or  St.  Albans  : 

23.  Blades,     Wm.  ;    Introduction    to    reprint    of    the   "  Boke    of 

St.   Albans." 
For  York  : 

24.  Davis,  Rob.  ;  "  Memoir  of  the  York   Press." 
For  Oxford  : 

25.  Latham,  H.  ;  "Oxford   Bibles  and    Printing  in  Oxford." 

26.  Reed,  Talbot  B. ;  "Old  English  Letter  Foundries,"  Chapter  6. 

For  Scotland  : 

27.  Watson,  Jas.  ;  "  History  of  the  Art  of  Printing." 

2cS.      Dickson,  Robert ;  "Introduction  of  the  Art  of  Printing  into 
Scotland."  * 
For  Aberdeen  : 

29.  Edmund,  /.  P.;  "The  Aberdeen   Printers." 
For  America  : 

30.  Thomas.  Isaiah;  "History  of  Printing  in  America."t     The 

reprint  of  this  work,  in  its  omissions  and  careless  inaccurate 
extracts,  is  a  disgrace  to  the  Society  which  issued   it. 


hi  oi  the  Author, Mt  Di      >m     Edmund's  "Annals  of  Scottish  Printing"  has  appeared. 

i  See  page  1 13. 


A   Chapter  on  Judges.  101 


Numerous  monographs  exist,  describing  the  first  Presses  in 
most  of  the  large  Cities  of  Europe  ;  but  our  space  prohibits  their 
enumeration  here. 

The  Leviticus  is  treated  of  in  a  large  number  of  books  on  the 
Mechanics  and  Practice  of  Printing  ;  amongst  others— 

31.  Smith     [no.;     "The     Printers'     Grammar"    is     the     oldest 

instructor. 

32.  Moxon,  /os.  ;  "  Mechanic  Exercises"*  is  the  oldest  mechani- 

cal handbook. 
33-      Johnson,    /.  ;  "  Typographia." 

34.  Hansard,    T.   C. ;  "Typographia." 

35.  Luckom.be,  P.  ;  "  History  and  Art  of  Printing." 

36.  Savage,   TV.  :  "  Dictionary  of  the  Art  of  Printing." 

For  Typefounding  : 

I,"].      Mores,  E.  Rowe ;  "  Dissertation  upon  English  Typographical 
Founders  and  Foundries."! 

38.  Reed,    Talbot  B.  ;     "  History   of    the   Old     English     Letter 

Foundries." 

39.  Hansard,  T.  C.  ;  "Treatises  on  Printing  and  Typefounding." 

For  an  account  of  the  early  mechanics  of  Typefounding,  see  Moxon, 

(No.  32  ante). 

The  Numbers  of  Printers  whose  biographies  exist  have   not   been 
very  numerous.      The  best  known  are  : — 

For  the  first  German  Printers  : 

40.  Gessner,  C.  F.  ;  "  Die  so  nothig     .     .    .     Buchdruckerkunst." 

For  the  earlv  Printers  o-enerallv  : 

41.  Madden,  J.  P.  A.  ;  "  Lettres  d'un  Bibliographe." 


'  See  pat;e  10S.  f  See  page  1 12. 


102  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


For  the  Aldine  family  : 

42.  Renouard,  A.  A. ;  "  Annales  de  l'lmprimerie  des  Aide.'' 

43.  Didot,  A.  F.  :  "Aide  Manuce  et  l'Hellenisme  a  Venice." 

For  Jenson : 

44.  Sardini,  G.  ;  "  Storia  Critica  de  Nic.  Jenson." 

For  the  Junta  : 

45.  Bandini,  A.  M.  ;  "  De  Florentina  Juntarum  Typographic." 

For  Bodoni  : 

46.  Bernardi,  Jetc.  ;  "  Vita  di  Giambattista  Bodoni." 

For  the  first  Parisian  Printers  : 

47.  Philippe,  J.  :  "  Origine  de  l'lmprimerie  a  Paris." 

For  Geofroy  Tory  : 

48.  Bernard,  Aug.  ;  "  Geofroy   Tory,  Peintre  et  Graveur." 

For  the  Stephens  : 

49.  Bernard,  A.  J .  ;  "  Les  Estienne." 

For  the  Dutch  Printers  : 

50.  Ledeboer,    A.    M.  ;  "  Alfabetische    Lijst    der   Boekdrukkers 

in  Noord-Nederland." 

For  Colard  Mansion  : 

51.  Van  Praet,  J.  B.  B.  ;  "  Notice  sur  Colard  Mansion." 

52.  Carton.  C.  ;  Colard   Mansion." 

For  Martens  of  Alost : 

53.  Gand,  M.  J.  ;    "  Recherches   Historiques  sur     .      .      Thierry 

Martens." 

For  Plantin  : 

54.  Booses,  Max;  "  Christophe  Plantin,  Imprimeur  Anversois." 

For  the  Elzevirs  : 

55.  Pielers,  Ch.  ;  "Annales  de  l'lmprimerie  Flsevirienne." 

56.  Willems,  A.;  "  Les  Elzevier." 


A   Chapter  on  fudges.  103 


For  English  Printers  before  1600,  consult  Herbert  (No.  20,  ante). 

For  English  Printers  generally  : 

57.  Timperlcy,  Chas.  H, ;  "  Encyclopaedia  of  Literary  and  Typo- 

graphical Anecdotes." 
For  Day  : 

58.  Strype,  J.;  "  Life  of  Parker." 

For  Bowyer  : 

59.  Nichols,  J.  ;  "  Life  of  William  Bowyer." 

For  English  Printers  in  the  18th  century  : 

60.  Nichols,  J.  ;  "  Literary  Anecdotes." 

For  Baskerville,  consult  Reed  (No.  38  ante,  Chapter  13). 

For  Scotch  Printers  : 

61.  Dickson  &  Edmund ;  "Annals  of  Scottish   Printing." 


The  Deuteronomy,  and  modern  developments  of  Printing,  are 
dealt  with  in  numerous  current  hand-books,  of  which  the  following 
may  be  named  : — 

62.  Wilson,  F.  J.  F.  ;  "Stereotyping   and    Electrotyping"  ;  also 

"  Printing   Machines  and   Machine   Printing." 

63.  Southward,  Jno.  ;  "  Practical  Printing." 


Facsimile  Title  pages  of  a  few  curious  works,  not  included  in  the 
above  list,  but  worthy  to  rank  among  the  Judges,  are  appended. 


io4 


The  Pentateuch  0/  Printing. 


DECREE 

OF 

Starre -Chamber, 
CONCERNING 

Printing, 

£[dade  tbeeleuentb  day  o/fuly 
la/lpaft.    1  6  3  7. 


Imprinted  at  London  by  Robert  Barker, 
Printer  to  the  Kings  mofl  Excellent 
Maieftie:  And  by  the  Aflignes 
oflobnBill.   i6^j. 


THE 


Original  and  Growth 

PRINTING 

Co  LLECTED 

Out  of  HIS  TO%T,  and  the  "Records 
of  this  J^lfrtqVO^KfE. 

Wherein  is  alio  Demonflrated, 

That  Printing  appertained  to  the 

^Prerogative %oyal ;  and  is  a  Flower 

of  the  QroV^n  of  England 

By  Richard  Atkyns,.  £fq; 


COfjlte -^>all,   April  the  25th  I  664. 
By  iDaUer  and  appointment  of  the  Right  HONOURABLE, 

Mr.  Secretary  M  o  R 1 C  E,  Let  this  be  itymteo. 

7 HO;  RTCHAliT. 


LONDON: 
Printed  by  JOHN  ST  re  ate  *v  for  the  AUTHOR 

MDCLX1V. 


io6 


The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


**.gs 


»^ 


v# 


*-» 


g 


^ 


«■»  £  I   s*  s3   •♦  \r     •  £  ^fia 


«• 


bt  *»  €5  a. 


» 


sr 

<*? 

u 

n 


{*&> 


if 


%&$p§$>$til 


A   Chapter  on  Judges. 


107 


C    u    O    - 


c  *• 


%  I 


'•> 


=  T  fv  1»    "    C    "    __ 


-5     '5*g- 


■fe  ^  *£  ■&  #>  ■£>  -^  -fr  -fo  &  ■&  •&  -i&  #-  ■&  -fe  ■&  -£>  ^  •&  ->fr#>  jfr  ■&  jg>  ^ 
•*&*-*>  4&  ■&  *  €>  *&  •>&  •»&  #>  •>£»  #>  *  *  #5  *  4t>  •*£>.*•£>■£>  &  •& *  ■& 

■&  -fo  ■&>  ■)  C-.  *£->  *&>  -jg;  j&  -fe  -)&Jfr -£>  ■£>  -fe  ■£>  €~  ^fi  *Ej>  j£>  *g>  •&  -fe  ■&  ■»£  ■>?-- 


P    2 


io8  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


MECHANICS  EXERCISES: 

Or,  the  Doclirine  of 

Applied  to  the  Art  of 


The  Second.  VOLUMNE. 

By  Jofeph  Moxon,  Member  of  the  Royal 
Society,  and  Hydrographer  to  the  King's 
Aloft  Excellent  Majefty. 

LONDON. 

Printed  for  Jofeph  Moxon  on  the  Weft- 
fide  of  Fleet-ditch,  at  the  Sign  of 
Atla6.     i  6  8  Z* 


A    Chapter  on  fudges.  109 

P    R    O    E   V   E 

DRUKKERYE 

VAN 

Mr  ABRAHAM  ELZEVIER. 

In  fijn  Leven  Drukker  van  de  Uriiverfiteyt  tot 

Leyden. 

Beftaande  in  vier  fchoone 

DRUK-PARSSEN. 

Wflar  ondcr  dric  met  kopere  Dcgels  zijn  , 
Als  mede 

Verfchcyde  foorteruvan  Arabifchc,  Sirifche,  Samaritaanfche, 

/Ethiopifche,  Griekfchc,  Hcbrecuwfche,  Rabbynfche, 

Latijnfche,  Curfijffche,  Hoog-en  Neerduytiche, 

en  mcer  andere 

LETTEREN 

Nog  verfchcyde  Arabifchc  ,  Sirifche,  Hebreeuwfche,  La- 
tijnfchc  en  Curfijffche  Matryfen,  wyders  Arabifche,  Si- 
rifche, Hebreeuwfche  Pongons,  ofStempcls, 
en  verfchcyde  Vormen  ora  in  te  gieten. 

Een  fchoone  groote  Kagchcl  ,   curieufe  Houte  en  Loode 

Letteren  ,  Finaaltjes ,  Yfere  Ramen ,  Lctterkaflen  Nat- 

cnSpoelborden,  vijf  Korngeer  fteencn,  enverder 

Geiectfchap  tot  deDrukkery  bchorende. 

Welke  verkocht  fal  werden  tot  Leyden  in  de  Academy , 

op  Maandag  den  2,0.    February  17 15.'^ morgem  ten 

9.   uttren  precjs. 

Alles  fal  daags  re  vooren  van  deGcgadingde  konnen  gefien 

werden,  en  deCatalogus  is  tc  bekomen  by,  Francoys 

Heencman,  op  de  Haarlcm-ftraat  inde  Vcrguldc  Son. 


I  IO 


The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


HISTORY 

&rt  oflpjrttttfng, 

Containing  an  Account  of  It's 

Invention  and  Progrefs 

EUROPE. 

WITH 

The  NAMEsof  the  Famous  Printers, 

The  Places  of  Their  Birth, 
And  the  Wojiks  printed  by  Them. 

AND 

A  Preface  by  the  Vublijh'er 
t  o 

The  PRINTERS  in  Scotland. 


EDINBURGH: 

Printed  by  J  a  m  e  s  Watson.  Sold  at  his  Shop,  op- 
pofite  to  the  Luchen-Boothi ;  and  at  the  Shops  of  D  a- 
vidScot  in  the  Parliament-Clofe,  and  George 
Stewart  a  little  above  the  Crofs.     M.  DCC.  XIII. 


A   Chapter  on  Judges.  1 1 1 


THE 


LIFE 


Of  Mavster 


OTptipam  Canton. 

OF    THE 

Weald  of  KENT; 

THE 

Firft   Printer   in  England. 

In  which  is  given 

An  Account  of  the  Rife  and  Progrefs  of 
the  A  R  T  of  pryntyng;  in  England,  during  his 
Time,  till  1493. 

Ccdlefted   by   J  O  H  N     LEWIS, 

iMinifler  of  g^etgatC  in  Kent. 


4%&> 


LONDON. 
Printed  in  the  Year  M.DCC.XXXVIL. 


112  The  Pentateuch  of  Printing. 


A    DISSERTATION   UPON   ENGLISH 

TYPOGRAPHICAL    FOUNDERS 

AND     FOUNDERIES. 


By  Edward  Rowe  Mores,  A.  M.  &  A.  S.  S. 


M,  DCC,  LXXVIII. 


/   Chapter  on  fudges.  i  i 


HISTORY  OF  PRINTING 

IN 

AMERICA. 

WITH     A 

BIOGRAPHY  OF  PRINTERS, 

AND      AN 

ACCOUNT    OF   NEWSPAPERS. 

XO  WHICH  IS  PREFIXED  A  CONCISE  VIEW  OF 

THE  DISCOVERY  AND  PROGRESS  OF  THE  ART 

IN 

OTHER  PARTS  OF  THE  WORLD. 

IN    TWO    VOLUMES. 

BY  ISAIAH  THOMAS, 

PRINTER,    WORCESTER.    MASSACHUSETTS. 

Volume   I. 


PRINTING  dispels  (he  gloom  of  mental  night— 
Hail !  pleasing  fountain  of  all  cheering  light  ! 
How  like  the.  radiant  orb  which  gives  the  day, 
.And  o'er  the  earth  sends  forth  th'  enlight'nins  rjyl 


WORCESTER  : 

FROM  THE  PRESS  OF  ISAIAH  THOMAS,  JUN. 
ISAAC    STURTEVANT,    PRINTER 

1810. 


NDEX 


Accursius,  M. 

14 

Aldine  Anchor  ■ 

6S 

Aldus     ■ 

64-6S.    102 

Amerbach 

73 

America,  Printing  in 

40,  70,   too.   113 

Bacon's  Rollers 

90 

Badins  Ascensius 

54.   7° 

Baskerville,  J.    - 

77.    103 

Bellaert,  J. 

74 

Belgium,  Printing  in 

75 

Bensley,  J. 

77.  87,  88 

Biblia  Pauperum 

7 

Blaeu,  W.  J.      • 

75 

Block  Books 

7,   12,   13.  99 

Block   Printing  - 

6-  9 

Bodoni,  G. 

-   68,   102 

Bologna,  ('..  da 

67 

Book-making.  Early 

10 

Bowyer.  Win.     - 

103 

Breitkopf 

64 

Brockhaus 

64 

Brothers  of  Common   I 

ife                                 31 

Cardboard 

6 

Case  for  Type  - 

52 

Catchwords 

57 

Cave,  Jno. 

57 

Caxton,  Win. 

■   31,  32-40.   100 

Chaix,  A. 

73 

Chinese  Printing 

6 

Coburger 

•      26,  64 

Cologne  Chronicle 

-      >4.    15 

Colophons 

45 

Composing  Machines 

92 

Composing  Sticks 

53 

Compositors 

5i 

Correction 

•   93-   "8 

..  1 

Coster,  L.  J.      •                       iC 

.   [8,   10.  61,  98 

Costeriana 

Is,  01 

Cowper's  Machine 

90 

Cramoisy 

73 

Cranz,  M. 

28 

Creussner 

26 

Cromberger 

40 

Cylindrical   Impression 

SS 

Day,  Jno. 

■    77,   103 

Daye,  Stephen 

40 

Dibdin,  T.  F.    ■ 

98 

Dictes  and  Sayingei 

3S 

Didot  Family    - 

72 

Distributing  Machines 

92 

Dolet,  E. 

69 

Donatiis 

12 

Donkiivs  Roller? 

90 

Dupre    - 

69 

Diirer,  Alb. 

64 

Eggestein 

25,  63 

Elzevirs,  Family  of 

•   74-   102 

England,   Printing  in     - 

32,  76,   100,   102 

Engraving 

6,  12 

Estiennes,   Family  of    - 

-   7i,  102 

Europe  in  the   151I1  century 

10 

"  Feet  "  of  Type 

49 

Feyerabend 

»3 

Picket,  G. 

•      28,  29 

"  Forms"  of  Type 

56 

France,  Printing  in 

2S,  69,   102 

Franklin,  Benj. 

79 

Friburger,  M.    • 

2S 

Froben,  Jno. 

73 

Fust,  Jno. 

20,  21,  25 

Garamond,  CI. 

71 

Gering,  U. 

28,  30,  73 

Q   2 


n6 


Inde 


x. 


PAGE 

PAGE 

Germany,  Printing  in     • 

25,   32,  63,    IOI 

Mayence  Psalter 

46 

Goebel,  Th. 

89 

Maynyal 

31 

Golden  Legend  ■ 

38 

Mentelin 

25,     63 

Gothic  Type 

3° 

Millar,  And. 

40 

Greek  Types 

71 

Moel      - 

69 

Guilds,  Trade    - 

10 

Moretus,  Ed. 

75 

Gutenburg,  Jno. 

-     15,    20,    21,    98 

Mould    - 

51 

Moxon,  Jos. 

-    50,    IOI 

Haerlem 

■    13,  20,  63,  98 

Hahn,  Ulric       - 

64 

Nature-printing 

5 

Hamborch,  Conrad 

48 

Netherlands,  Printing  in 

31,  32,  74 

Hero-worship,  Perils  of 

16 

Newspaper,  Printing  of  a 

90 

Hessels,  J.  H.    - 

98 

Nichols,  Jno. 

77 

Heylin,  J. 

21.    JS 

Nicholson,  Jno. 

-      S6-89 

Holland,  Claims  of 

13,    20,    63 

Numbering  of  Pages 

57 

Ibarra     - 

75 

Olpe,  P.  de 

63 

Impression,  Modes  of   - 

5,  S8 

Operinus 

73 

Indulgences 

13 

Oxford,  Printing  at 

-   32,  100 

Ink 

•        7-   54 

Pannartz,  A.       - 

•     27,  64 

Inking  Balls 

55 

Paper  on  Reels 

91 

Invention  Controversy 

•     22,  98 

Petrejus 

63 

Ireland,  Printing  in 

40 

Pfister    -            -            -            - 

25,  63 

Italic  Type 

67 

Photo-typography 

93 

Italy,  Printing  in 

•     27,  64 

i'igouchet 

69 

Jenson,  Nic. 

102 

Planck    - 

64 

Junius,  Had. 

-      16,   iS 

Plantin,  Christopher 

-   75,  I02 

Playing  Cards    - 

6 

Keffer,  II. 

26 

Powell,  Humphrey 

40 

Koelhoff 

63 

Pn    >es,  Early    -                         -    54, 

56,  81,  S3 

Koenig,  Fredk. 

-      86-90 

Printing,  Definition  of  - 

1 1 

Lamps,  Printing  on 

5 

Printing  by  hand 

S5 

Language 

5 

Printing,  Laws  affecting 

77 

Latin  Names  of  Towns 

41 

Printing,  Spread  of 

■     25,  99 

Leeu,  Ger. 

•-,< 

Punch  Cutting    - 

50 

Lignamine,  1'.  de 

64 

Pynson 

•     40,  76 

Linde,  Dr.  Van  der 

'5,  9« 

Re  ueil  des  Histoires  de  Troye 

3° 

I.,  igotj  |" 

02 

Re  uyell  of  ///<•  Histories  of  Troye 

3°.  35,  37 

Machlinia 

40 

Rei  isinger 

64 

Mansi '  'olarcl 

•  3°,  3',  37,   >o2 

R 1  and  1  [unte 

40 

Martens.  Thierry 

;i.   102 

Roman  Type 

27 

Matrix    - 

5' 

Rome,  Printing  at 

26 

M:i). ncc 

•     20,  25 

Rot,  Bert, 

27 

Index. 


i  i 


'AGE 

St.  Albans,  Schoolmaster  "f 

40 

Schoeffer,  P. 

•    21,   25,  49 

63 

Scotland,  Printing  in 

40,   too, 

"°3 

Scribes  - 

IO 

Seals,  Early 

- 

5 

Sensenschmidt   - 

-      26 

63 

Siberch 

40 

Signatures 

- 

56 

Silber     - 

- 

64 

Spain,  Printing  in 

75 

Speculum 

13 

Spire,  J.  de 

- 

28 

Spottiswoodes,  The 

77 

Stationers'  Company 

40, 

77 

Steam  Power  and  Printing 

■     85, 

9i 

Steam  Press  invented     • 

- 

88 

Stereotyping 

-   9°, 

i°3 

Stephani.     (Sec  Eslicnnes. ) 

Strasburg 

-     20, 

25 

Switzerland,  Printing  in 

- 

73 

Therhoernen 

63 

Theurdanck 

- 

26 

Times,  The 

- 

90 

Title-pages 

- 

57 

Tory,  G. 

•   69, 

102 

I  j  pes,  Early 

'3 

22,  98 

Types  on  \\  ood 

47 

Types,  Early  Specimens  of 

48,  49 

Type-Metal     '  - 

- 

5' 

Typefounding,  Marly  Practice  of 

45. 

51,    IOI 

Typography 

- 

3-9 

Typography,  Early  Schools  of  - 

- 

32 

Typography  without  Types 

• 

93 

Valdarfar 

. 

27 

Veldener 

- 

3' 

Venice   • 

27,  64 

Verard,  Ant. 

- 

69 

Viessieux,  (i. 

- 

69 

Vinne,  Then.  L.  de 

- 

81 

Vitre,  Ant. 

73 

Vostre,  Simon    - 

- 

69 

Walter,  Jno. 

87, 

89,  92 

Wolffe    - 

- 

77 

Woodfalls 

- 

77 

Worde,  Wynlcyn  de 

- 

40,  76 

Writing  Material 

5.  6 

Zainer,  G. 

. 

27,  63 

Zell,  Ulric 

14.  26, 

$2,    63 

SUPPLEMENT. 

%EADERS     CORRECTIONS. 


itONAL  LIBRARY  FAOUTV 


"nuaiiiiiwuiiiiiigiiii         ^ 


3*5 


^HE  LIRR  *T," 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


RETURN  TO 

OCT  0  7  1991 
ED/PSYCH 


u 


